Govt owes P8b to PhilHealth

THERE have been proposals to expand the coverage of state-run Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and increase the benefits to its members, but the Audit Commission says PhilHealth has not been collecting enough premium payments, and that the government alone owes it P8.89 billion in premium contributions for the years 2001 to 2008.

The Senate committee on health on Wednesday conducted a hearing on proposals to establish a children’s health insurance program and universal coverage under the national health insurance program together with the committees on finance, local government and labor.

The Philippines instituted a national health insurance program in 1995 to provide health insurance coverage and ensure affordable health services for Filipinos under the National Health Insurance Act of 1995, which also created the PhilHealth.

Senators Ralph Recto and Edgardo Angara co-authored Senate Bill 55 that aims to establish mechanisms for children’s health insurance, while Senator Loren Legarda authored Senate Bill 2126 that has the same objectives.

Senators Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Antonio Trillanes IV co-authored Senate Bill 18 that aims for the automatic health insurance coverage for all Filipinos.

But expanding PhilHealth’s coverage and benefits is expected to affect its finances. The company must still collect P8.89 billion from the national government, which represents its contribution to the fund as an employer.

The government has a history of not paying its worker’s premium contributions. In 2003 the Government Service Insurance System billed it for billions in unpaid teacher contributions to the fund.

The Audit Commission says PhilHealth has billed the government for its unpaid counterpart premiums as employer of all government agencies. P8.89 billion was due on it in 2009, and P7.4 billion still require verification from various government agencies.

The commission says PhilHealth should have received P3.5 billion in subsidies from the national government under the General Appropriations Act of 2007, but it received only P2 billion. The subsidy is separate from the government’s contribution to the fund as an employer. –Eileen A. Mencias, Manila Standard Today