EDITORIAL - Philhealth must not be allowed to go bankrupt

One of the most alarming pieces of news to come out these days is that about how the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation or Philhealth can go bankrupt in as short a period of time as seven years unless the government pays up its arrears amounting to P19.2 billion.

Senator Loren Legarda gave the dire assessment in the course of a hearing on a measure she sponsored seeking mandatory health insurance for all Filipinos. Legarda, who heads the committee on health, pointed to the Department of Budget and Management as the culprit.

The DBM reportedly racked up the gargantuan arrears because of the different bases it used in determining the salary scales and salary caps of its members who are working with the government.

Philhealth vice president Nerissa Santiago told the committee of Legarda that the multi-billion-peso debt of the government could affect the delivery of Philhealth services to all its 17 million current members.

Not only is the bit of news alarming, it is also unfair considering that while the problem has something to do with members from the government, many of the other members are from the private sector who have nothing to do with the problems of the DBM.

Seven years is not forever. It is a very short time. Before we know it, it will be upon us. And if by that time nothing is done to solve the problem and the Philhealth indeed goes bankrupt, then we will certainly have a deluge in our hands.

To be sure, the services of Philhealth are not enough. Compared with the health insurance available in other countries, its services are but spartan. But to a poor country like the Philippines, even not enough is often good enough.

But to deprive such services because Philhealth is going bankrupt is unimaginable. The unaffordability of health care will render vital economic productivity at grave risk and could very well bring us to a standstill. The government must remedy the situation fast.