PSA, PhilHealth to sync death data

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) moved to harmonize death information records in the country.

In a statement, PSA said it inked a memorandum of agreement with PhilHealth for the data sharing of death information records from PSA to PhilHealth.

With the agreement, PhilHealth can now regularly update its membership database, which includes the determination of the occurrence of death of its deceased members and dependents based on the data of the PSA.

It also aims to prevent the commission of fraud by taking advantage of the inaccuracy of records or failure to provide due benefits to PhilHealth members and their qualified dependents who were erroneously declared as deceased members or dependents.

The agreement targets to streamline the processes of verification of data or information between the two agencies, and assure the public that information being shared is secured and protected.

“Despite the continuing challenges and constraints of the pandemic, we can still work together to improve accuracy in the work that we do, and to extend our capacity to promote honesty and integrity in public service,” national statistician Dennis Mapa said.

“This data sharing agreement would surely bolster good governance, and would enable us to verify if the claimants are still alive. Ultimately, this will help the corporation combat fraudulent transactions, particularly of claims,” PhilHealth president and CEO Dante Gierran added.