PhilHealth chief blamed for impounding of P89.9 B funds

There should be a change in leadership in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. for failure to implement the Universal Health Care (UHC) law, which led to the impounding of P89.9 billion in unused PhilHealth funds, Sen. JV Ejercito said yesterday.

- By MARC JAYSON CAYABYAB

During the Kapihan sa Senado forum, Ejercito expressed anger at PhilHealth's transfer of P89.9 billion of unutilized funds back to the National Treasury to finance unprogrammed projects.

“The PhilHealth head should be replaced for failure to live up to the purpose of the Universal Health Care Law, being the primary agency tasked with its implementation,” Ejercito said. “Although we’ve seen some improve ments – such as reducing out-of-pocket expenses from 70 percent to 42-45 percent – there is still a long way to go. We should be targeting zero-balance billing for indigents, senior citizens, PWDs and other vulnerable groups,” he added.

Ejercito questioned the transfer of the fund, which could have been used to assist indigent patients and settle unpaid dues to hospitals.