Government funds are being moved to finance other priority programs.
The controversial transfer of P60-billion worth of funds from Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to the Bureau of Treasury is a judicious action that preserves the integrity of public funds.
The Department of Finance (DOF) acted on the transfer with merits and fiscal responsibility in accordance with the fundamental principles of the Commission on Audit on the disbursement of public funds.
The fund redirection, however, is an admission on the the part of PhilHealth that it is not using its funds efficiently—a big portion of them are staying idle.
It is then no wonder that the unused PhilHealth funds prompted Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Kho Jr. to call for a structural overhaul of the agency after noting governance shortcomings.
Justice Kho’s comments give credence to the transfer of idle PhilHealth funds to the national treasury. Congress authorized the transfer after acknowledging the state firm’s inability to fully utilize its resources.
The movement of the funds is also a strong signal for the state health insurer to improve its services and maximize the benefits available to members.
Department of Health (DOH) Assistant Secretary Dr. Albert Francis Domingo sees it in another light. PhilHealth is receiving a reprimand to utilize its funds efficiently or enhance its benefit packages, rather than allowing them to remain idle.
The fund transfer, though, has not diminished PhilHealth’s benefit packages. It still expanded its benefit offerings over the past year. Patients undergoing hemodialysis now have coverage for up to 156 sessions per year, up from 90.
The agency has expanded mental health services to include consultations and inpatient care. Financial support for critical illnesses, including cancer and kidney transplants, has been raised, while new outpatient packages now cover primary care, laboratory tests, and preventive healthcare services.
Philhealth, in addition, enhanced its Z-benefit packages, ensuring better financial protection for those suffering from catastrophic illnesses, such as heart disease and stroke. It recently announced a new package for heart valve repair and replacement, with coverage up to P1 million.
But PhilHealth must always strive to increase the health benefits to members and mend its sense of complacency
Mr. Domingo noted that prior to the current leadership of PhilHealth, there was a perception within the agency that earmarked funds will always be available, regardless of how efficiently they are utilized.
“And they think, at least before the current CEO or the current administration, they think that just because there is an earmark, whether hard or soft, that they will get the money and there is no stimulus for them to actually increase the benefits,” he said.
PhilHealth has been receiving more money than it could spend. Its inefficient operations led to the accumulations of unutilized resources. To sum it up, PhilHealth lacks the absorptive capacity to handle the billions allocated to it.
One should stop providing funds to PhilHealth if the agency’s financial manager cannot maximize the funds entrusted to him.
The DOF did its fiscal responsibility. Government funds are being moved to finance other priority programs. The past PhilHealth management failed to deploy its huge resources effectively.
Member contributions were untouched by the transfer of funds—only unused state subsidies were redirected. The past administration mobilized the same budgetary appropriations in state health-related expenses, like the allowances for health workers during the COVID pandemic.
PhilHealth, meanwhile, is ripe for reforms if it wants a resumption of its subsidy. Returning the funds will not address its inadequacy to maximize the resources in its hands.
The surplus funds are best maximized if they are used in other state priority programs that create jobs, provide free education and lower the poverty incidence. This is sound management and fiscal responsibility, which the DOF exercised.
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