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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider PhilHealth must streamline validating process, says solon

PhilHealth must streamline validating process, says solon

Published Feb 4, 2024 11:29 am

At A Glance

  • AnaKalusugan Party-list Rep. Ray Reyes underscored the need for a streamlined validating process from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to make healthcare more accessible to the public. 

AnaKalusugan Party-list Rep. Ray T. Reyes.jpgAnaKalusugan Party-list Rep. Ray Reyes (AnaKalusugan Party-list Facebook)

AnaKalusugan Party-list Rep. Ray Reyes underscored the need for a streamlined validating process from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to make healthcare more accessible to the public.

In a statement on Sunday, Feb. 4, Reyes said one of the stumbling blocks to the efficient implementation of the Universal Healthcare (UHC) Act is the PhilHealth registration.

"Under the UHC lahat ng Pilipino miyembro na ng Philhealth. So bakit pahirapan pagdating sa mga ospital? Hindi ba dapat isang valid ID lang sapat na?" the lawmaker asked.

(Under the UHC, all Filipinos are members of PhilHealth. So why is it a struggle when it comes to hospitals? Shouldn't one valid ID be enough?)

"Bakit kailangan pa natin pahirapan yung mga taong nagtatrabaho nang maigi para lang makuha ang serbisyo na dapat nakalaan sa kanila?" he wondered out loud

(Why do we have to make it difficult for people who work hard just to get the service that should be provided to them?)

The AnaKalusugan solon argued that instead of increasing premium rates, PhilHealth should instead utilize its reported P200 billion in excess funds.

"Tumataas ang Philhealth premium pero hindi naman tumataas ang case rate. Ang tagal din ng service at ang liit ng coverage. Dapat ibigay na lang ang perang ito sa tao at sa Universal Healthcare," he said.

(The PhilHealth premium is increasing but the case rate never does. The service is also slow and the coverage is limited. This money should just be given to the public and to the Universal Healthcare.)

Reyes stressed that this excess fund is “way above” PhilHealth’s normal operating cost—to the extent that they can afford not to collect any contribution for a year.

The House Committee on Health vice chairman said the government should prioritize ramping up its efforts on providing accessible healthcare instead of making people go through hurdles.

With the recent OCTA Research survey reporting that “staying healthy” remains the most urgent concern for the majority of Filipinos, the congressman noted the “government should waste no time in working to ease this growing concern”.

"Ibig sabihin lamang nito ay dapat lalo pang paigitingin ng pamahalaan ang mga programang pangkalusugan para maramdaman ng ating mga kababayan na hindi sila napapabayaan," he added.

(This only means that the government should strengthen the health programs so that our countrymen feel that they are not being ignored.)

Related Tags

universal healthcare PhilHealth ray reyes
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