Daven Tamayo

SC justice says time to overhaul PhilHealth board

Article (news)

Job Manahan

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — A Supreme Court Associate Justice on Tuesday said it was time to overhaul the board of directors in PhilHealth, amid issues on budget allocation and use. During the High Court’s third round of oral argument on PhilHealth’s transfer of funds, SC Associate Justice Antonio Kho, Jr. floated the idea after the issue on the state insurer’s structural absorptive capacity, as mentioned by the treasury department. Kho then asked how the DOH prepares the PhilHealth’s budget. For context, the DOH, which chairs PhilHealth’s board, helps in the preparation of the state insurer’s budget through premium subsidies and special health funds. Health Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo said they “count the number of members based on a database on indirect members and then it generates a list.” “That is the number submitted multiplied by a factor which is the premium rate and then is submitted to the DBM,” he said. But Kho questioned the agency why it did not consider government collection the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s computation on sin taxes. To which Domingo responded, “Mathematically, it&#x27;s the premium rate.”“The way that the premium rate is determined unfortunately is not actuarially fair. It is not based on the spread of benefits that is due to the Filipino people. Kulang po talaga ‘yung binabayad ng PhilHealth 10 percent lang po in 2024,” he said. <div>‘NOT FOLLOWING THE LAW?’</div>Based on the law, PhilHealth funds may be obtained from members’ premium contributions, sin tax collections, 50 percent of share from Philippine Amusement Gaming Corporation’s income, 40 percent of charity funds through Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, among others. But when asked for confirmation by Kho if the budget request for the subsidy does not consider the taxes collected by Congress “for purposes of subsidy for indirect contributors,” Domingo answered in the affirmative. “The budget is computed based on the need,” said Domingo. “So you are not following the law? You’re not observing what the law requires?” said the Associate Justice.“Probably it&#x27;s time to overhaul PhilHealth and change the board for not complying with what the law requires,” he said. “Hindi kasalanan ng tao ‘yan, for not availing all of these benefits. Apparently, from your own words, kasalanan ‘yan ng administration, this administration, last administration, or the previous administration. At kasalanan ‘yan ng PhilHealth board, ‘wag natin pahirapan ang tao because andiyan naman ‘yung pera,” he said. Domingo said PhilHealth is already in the process of “correcting” the magistrate’s observations, as demonstrated by the recent change of leadership.<div>PHILHEALTH MUST ASK MARCOS JR. TO GET P60-B BACK FROM TREASURY</div>Kho, meanwhile, said PhilHealth must urge President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to release an order reversing the transfer of the P60 billion “excess funds” to the national treasury.According to Kho, the P60 billion could be used to expand the state insurer’s benefits packages, to hire more people to implement its programs and to “answer to the public’s needs.”“We cannot close our eyes for the past years that we haven&#x27;t given benefits. So in that case, maybe PhilHealth can already request the President to return the money, the 60 billion that were transmitted to the government for unprogrammed funds. Ibalik na,” said Kho.A deputy treasurer, during the oral argument, said that PhilHealth is facing an issue related to “structural absorptive capacity.”This means that the state insurer cannot implement all of its programs efficiently because it lacks the manpower, equipment, and hospitals to do so.““Number one, the insufficiency of the compensation for our healthcare workers, our healthcare professionals, number two, hospitals. Healthcare facilities even if benefit expansions occur if there is no hospital within the vicinity of a specific beneficiary particularly an indigent beneficiary then they would not be able to avail of these expanded benefits,” Deputy Treasurer Eduardo Marino III said.“In addition to the direct health supply side constraints, ang hospital, medical equipment, and personnel, healthcare workers, you also have the social determinants of health. Those are the other things that improve health outcomes,” he said.But Kho argued that the public could not understand the broader issue of absorptive capacity.“You are getting money from PhilHealth and telling us that PhilHealth lacks absorptive capacity, but the reason why it lacks absorptive capacity is it does not get full support from government not only addressing, expanding benefit but also supply side requirements,” he said.On the part of the health department, which discussed in part how the budget of PhilHealth is computed, the issue “has been the signal it has been using to increase the benefits.”But Kho said if the current administration already recognizes the issue and the public’s need on health care, “they should restore, bring back the money back to PhilHealth.”“Therefore, if the current admin recognize that very thank you. And therefore they should restore, bring back the money back to PhilHealth,” said Kho.In August last year, the group of Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel filed a petition which challenged the constitutionality of the fund transfers, followed by similar petitions filed by Bayan Muna and 1Sambayan.The petitioners insisted that it was illegal to transfer the questioned funds based on the 2024 General Appropriations Act and the Department of Finance circular no. 003 2024.In October last year, the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order but at that time, P60 billion of the P89.9 billion was already released.

A Supreme Court Associate Justice on Tuesday said it was time to overhaul the board of directors in PhilHealth, amid issues on budget allocation and use.

A Supreme Court Associate Justice on Tuesday said it was time to overhaul the board of directors in PhilHealth, amid issues on budget allocation and use.