Senators having second thoughts on more UHC funds

Senators are having second thoughts on pouring more funds into the Universal Health Care (UHC) program after being stung by allegations of widespread corruption at the State-run Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).

Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson, chairman of the Senate Commitee on National Defense and Security, issued the statement after taking a breather from the nine-hour public hearing by the Senate Committee of the Whole where documents had been given on the sly last Tuesday and testimonies given on allegations that P15 billion had so far been pocketed by an in-house mafia at PhilHealth.

“Being a consistent intervenor in augmenting the budgets of agencies based on justifiable need, the DOH (Department of Health) and PhilHealth included, I can say for sure that I and many senators will have second thoughts to pour in more funds into the UHC program unless the executive (Malacanang) shows seriousness and sincerity in addressing the unconscionable pocketing of funds by unscrupulous PhilHealth officials,’’ Lacson said.

“Having said that, during last year’s budget deliberations for this year’s UHC appropriations, the Senate increased their budget to P74 billion from P67 billion under the National Expenditure Program (NEP),’’ he added.

The UHC Act in the Philippines is seen as a new dawn for health care.

Signed in March, 2019, the UHC Act is the first of its type in the Western Pacific region.

The UHC Act automatically enrolls all Filipino citizens in the National Health Insurance Program and prescribes complementary reforms in the health system.

This gives citizens access to the full continuum of health services they need, while protecting them from enduring financial hardship as a result.