Leila pushes bill allowing President to stop PhilHealth hike
Opposition Sen. Leila de Lima is pushing for the passage of a bill that would grant the President the power to stop the scheduled increase in Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) contributions.
De Lima said the measure, once passed into law, would help lessen the public’s financial burden especially during a national emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These most trying times require from our government and our leaders’ exceptional efforts and emergency responses that will not only secure the health of the people, but would likewise, cushion and mitigate the worst economic shocks of a pandemic of this scale,” De Lima said in a statement.
“Universal access to quality and affordable health coverage is fundamental to equipping our people with the capability of withstanding the shocks brought about by unexpected national health emergencies,” the senator added.
“It does not only epitomize a strong focus on equity and social justice, it likewise encourages more to trust the system.”
De Lima had earlier filed Senate Bill (SB) No. 1977 amending Republic Act (RA) No. 11223, or the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act, to grant the Chief Executive the power to suspend or defer the scheduled increases in premium rates as long as it is in the interest of the public.
She said she is concerned about the increase, saying several issues, including the alleged loss of P15-billion fund of the state health insurance agency to corruption, has made people skeptical about PhilHealth’s capability to implement the UHC Act.
Likewise, De Lima noted that the PhilHealth owes payables reaching more than a billion pesos to many hospitals and healthcare institutions, including the Philippine Red Cross in spite of infusion of funds from the Bayanihan Law.
These issues, she said, have brought the credibility of PhilHealth to an “all-time low,” which, in turn, discourages members to actively and regularly pay their membership dues.
“Unless and until there is a clear showing from PhilHealth that the funds are properly used and the corrupt officials are duly punished, it will always be viewed as a corrupt institution unfit to manage the UHC funds,” she said.