Padilla is also Philhealth boss

HEALTH Undersecretary Alexander Padilla said Sunday he will assume the position of chief operations officer of Philippine Health Corp. next month to sign up more members.

“In keeping with the policy of the Aquino administration for universal health, we will prioritize the enrollment of PhilHealth members, as well as the provision of more out-patient benefits,” Padilla said in a phone interview.

The state-run firm plans to increase the premium contributions of its new members starting next month, and to P600 from P300 quarterly or P2,400 a year.

The people covered are those earning at least P25,000 a year based on their income tax returns. There were 20.1 million PhilHealth members with an average of five dependents as of February this year, or an 85-percent coverage rate.

“Universal health care is created particularly for our poor countrymen,” President Benigno Aquino III said earlier.

“We aim to protect them not only from undesirable health effects but also from the adverse financial implications of diseases, illnesses and emergencies. We aim to do this by improving the coverage and benefits of PhilHealth, our national health insurance agency.”

Padilla is also the government’s chief negotiator in the peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front.

He has served as Customs commissioner, assistant Interior secretary, special prosecutor of the Office of the Ombudsman, and senior state prosecutor of the Justice Department in the past 24 years. –Joyce Pangco Pañares, Manila Standard Today