Party-list blasts PhilHealth over ‘inequitable’ healthcare

CEBU, Philippines — A health advocacy party-list group has chided the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) for “failing” to provide Filipinos with equitable access to medical services and procedures.

Mike Defensor, the second nominee of Anakalusugan (Alagaan Natin Ating Kalusugan) party-list, pointed out the gaps and problems in the country’s healthcare system.

“PhilHealth has a fund of at least P105 billion. Under the Universal Health Care, that amount will go up to at least P160 billion. If we get sick, there is an insurance that will guarantee our payment – that is the role of PhilHealth. But its diagnostic tests and check-ups are focused on when you are already very sick or confined,” he said.

This prompted Defensor and two other advocates Atty. Adorlito Ginete and Ower Andal, Anakalusugan first and third nominees, respectively, to push for comprehensive healthcare, which includes pre-diagnostics and pre-check-ups.

The three nominees held a press conference Sunday night in a hotel in uptown Cebu City.

Ginete and Andal both said they are pushing for a universal health care for all Filipinos by providing free diagnostics and checkups, free maintenance medicines, and increase the budget of the Department of Health to support the development of facilities in the country, among others.

Andal said they will push for legislation allowing non-admitted patients to avail of PhilHealth coverage/benefits.

Defensor said the expanded healthcare coverage would help prevent three major causes of death—cancer, heart-related diseases and diabetes— in the country.

“These are all non-communicable diseases, yet Filipinos die from these because they do not know that they are already suffering from these diseases owing to their inability to avail of a check-up or diagnostic test,” he said.

Defensor said PhilHealth has sufficient funds to cover check-ups, diagnostic tests and maintenance medicines, among others.

“We should not pay a single centavo because PhilHealth has huge budget. We just need to ensure that PhilHealth funds are properly handled,” he said.

PhilHealth posted a net income of P8 billion, a seven-fold growth from the insurance agency’s P1 billion net income in 2017, by end of November last year, said Defensor.

It also registered a premium income of P118 billion last year or 21 percent higher than the P97.18 billion collected in 2017.

PhilHealth’s investment portfolio also rose to P152 billion while its benefit payments reached P111 billion in 2018, said Defensor. (FREEMAN)