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A weekly change of presidents won't solve corruption at PhilHealth -- Morales
A weekly change of presidents won't solve corruption at PhilHealth -- Morales
A weekly change of Philippine Presidents will not solve the "wicked problems and corruption" at the state-run Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).
This was what retired Brig. Gen. Ricardo Morales, PhilHealth president and chief executive officer (PCEO), said during the public hearing by the Senate acting as the Committee of the Whole on alleged ‘’widespread corruption’’ at PhilHeath.
Morales’ optimism for an affirmative change at PhilHealth hinges on the breaking down of the agency’s ‘’wicked problem ‘’and each sub-element addressed in detail.’’
He said: ‘’We have come full circle. We are witnessing the 2020 edition of what is turning to be an annual bash PhilHealth frenzy that gets the PCEO fired, executives dragged over the coals, the board replaced, and renewed promises of change and reform declared.’’
Before senators who personally attended the hearing presided by Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III or who joined the hearing through video conferencing because of the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, Morales asked: ‘’How much fraud is there in PhilHealth?’’
He cited a recent study that estimated Philhealth’s fraud index to be 7.5 percent.
“In other words, of the P136 billion PhilHealth spent last year on benefit payments, P10.2 billion was potentially lost to fraud. Next year, if the right thing is not done, of the P240 billion planned benefit expenditure, this potential loss will balloon to P18 billion. Global average is 10 percent to 20 percent,’’ he said.
“In this context, the so-called losses reports appearing in the media, some of which are inaccurate anyway, appear as pin pricks. This 7.5 percent fraud index is the mother, the strategic level management wishes to focus on. Certainly, all reports of wrongdoing have to be investigated and if evidence warrants, the law will have to take its course. But the resources of the corporation are limited and priorities have to be established,’’ he said.
“As I have maintained from Day 1 of my tenure, the main solution to this systemic fraud problem lies in a robust, integrated, and harmonized information management ecosystem running a clean, complete, and updated membership database. Only such a system can keep track of the 109 million members, the 40,000 accredited health care professionals, 8,500 health care facilities, filing 35,000 claims a day, and paying almost P2 billion a week,’’ he added.