House urged to settle government debt to Philhealth
MANILA, Philippines - Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas urged Congress yesterday to pay off the national government’s debt to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth).
“We are hoping that the Department of Budget and Management included in the proposed 2010 national budget a lump sum meant to cover all, if not the bulk of the NG’s unpaid obligations to Philhealth,” he said.
He said if there is no such appropriation, Congress should include it in the budget.
Gullas likened Philhealth’s predicament to the problem of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) concerning the unpaid contributions of public school teachers.
Many teachers are unable to obtain their full social security benefits from the GSIS because GSIS claims the Department of Education has been remiss in remitting their contributions.
“We definitely don’t want a situation where a government worker cannot get health insurance benefits because Philhealth records show that the employee’s contributions have not been paid by his or her agency,” Gullas said.
Philhealth collects P100 to P750 in month premiums from every public and private sector worker, with 50 percent of the amount paid by the employer. In return, the worker gets health insurance coverage.
According to Philhealth vice president for actuary Nerissa Santiago, the national government’s insurance premium debt amounts to P19.2 billion.
She has told a Senate hearing that unless this indebtedness is settled right away, the state-run insurance agency would become insolvent in seven years.
Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. disputed Santiago’s figure, saying as far as he could remember, NG owes Philhealth only P9 billion.
Gullas said whether it is P19.2 billion or P9 billion, the amount should now be included in the annual budget for payment to Philhealth.
At the same time, Gullas urged the agency to take measures to curb financial losses from fraudulent and padded claims, which he said amount to P4 billion a year.
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