Amid scandals, PhilHealth continues to get biggest subsidy

The biggest subsidy to state-run firms in August went to the scandal-ridden Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), amounting to P27.7 billion.

The national government subsidy to PhilHealth was 87 percent of the total P31.8 billion in subsidies that government-owned and controlled corporations received in August, according to data from the Bureau of Treasury.

Since PhilHealth also received P1.4 billion in subsidies last May, its year-to-date financial support amounted to P29.1 billion, also the largest among all GOCCs by end of August.

GOCCs got a combined P96.8-billion worth of subsidies as of August. PhilHealth got 30 percent of the total.

Last year, PhilHealth was the top recipient of GOCC subsidies with P52.9 billion or 38.7 percent of 2018’s record-high total of P136.7 billion in subsidies.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM), in a report last May, said there was “minimal” release of funds for the National Health Insurance Program of PhilHealth at the start of 2019 because bulk of the funds was scheduled for release in the second half of the year.

PhilHealth, according to its website, has a total beneficiary population of 93.5 million.

Last June, the Inquirer reported the scams that were bleeding PhilHealth dry, including fake members, ghost patients, ghost dialysis treatments, overpayment of hospitals, as well as padding and “upcasing” of claims.

According to the Inquirer report, PhilHealth lost P154 billion from these scams since 2013.

Starting next year, PhilHealth will implement the universal health care program, which was signed into law by President Duterte in February. /TSB