Cabaero: Timing and trust in question in PhilHealth fund transfers

Cabaero: Timing and trust in question in PhilHealth fund transfers
Opinion
Published on

The transfer of Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) funds to the national treasury comes at a time when many Filipinos are already grappling with changes to their private medical insurance coverage.

Those with health maintenance organization (HMO) plans believed they were covered up to the limits of their policies if they fell ill or needed medical consultation. However, the post-pandemic reality is that there are some doctors who no longer accept medical insurance for consultations. In other cases, doctors may require additional payments beyond the amount covered in the HMO’s letter of authority for outpatient services. These developments place policyholders at a disadvantage, leaving them increasingly reliant on PhilHealth in cases of more serious illness.

It is therefore crucial that PhilHealth’s funds remain intact and readily accessible, without the risk of hospitals or doctors preferring cash payments over PhilHealth coverage. There was a time during the pandemic when hospitals considered not renewing their accreditation with PhilHealth due to non-payment of reimbursement claims.

In 10 days, or on October 16, 2024, another P30 billion of PhilHealth’s funds is scheduled to be transferred to the national treasury as part of the Department of Finance’s (DOF) program to utilize PhilHealth’s “excess” money to finance the 2025 national budget.

The plan is to transfer around P89.9 billion away from PhilHealth, with the first P30-million remittance to the national treasury done - on May 10 for P20 billion and August 21 for P10 billion. The transfer scheduled for October 16 will be the second tranche, with the last one for P29.9 billion scheduled this November.

The transfers will proceed unless the Supreme Court via a temporary restraining order or Congress through a new law orders the DOF to stop the transfers and return the money. The Supreme Court has scheduled hearings in January 2025. Finance Secretary Ralph Recto had insisted that the fund transfers would not harm the public as PhilHealth has even increased its benefits package by 30 percent.

Past finance secretaries have also said in a joint statement that redirecting unused funds from government-owned corporations is within the DOF’s authority. They argued that these funds could be better used for national priorities on health, education, social services, and infrastructure, as reflected in next year’s annual budget.

Those who opposed the DOF move to transfer funds away from PhilHealth said, however, that only President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. can order such action and that there is no such thing as “excess funds” for PhilHealth. Former Supreme Court justice Antonio Carpio and lawyer Howard Calleja of the 1Sambayan coalition said, “Given the serious health condition of our people today, it is unconscionable to divert funds from promoting primary healthcare of our people.”

What it boils down to is that the public’s trust in the government’s ability to ensure access to healthcare and act as responsible stewards of their money is being called into question.

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