Manila Bulletin
Philippines
Senators oppose PhilHealth bid to delay universal health care implementation
Philippines
Senators oppose PhilHealth bid to delay universal health care implementation
Senators oppose PhilHealth bid to delay universal health care implementation
Published Jun 17, 2020 12:00 am
By Hannah Torregoza
Senators on Wednesday thumbed down the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.’s (PhilHealth) proposal to defer the implementation of the Universal Health Care (UHC) law saying it is critical in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Senate Ralph Recto
(Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN) “All the more, we must proceed with implementing the UHC law. We must invest in upgrading our health infrastructure and providing better health services for our people,” Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said in a statement. “This will provide confidence and solidarity with government. The national government can and should provide subsidies to PhilHealth at this time,” Recto stressed. Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon warned against postponing the implementation of the law that would promote access to affordable care, strengthen the country’s primary health care and make Filipino people healthy to fight the virus, and described this as a step in the wrong direction. “Our neighboring countries like South Korea and Singapore are faring better in the war against COVID-19 precisely because of their effective universal health care coverage,” Drilon said in a separate statement. “Postponing the full implementation of the Universal Health Care Act is a huge misstep. While other countries are working on ways to strengthen primary health care to prevent the spread of the virus, we would hear plans to postpone access to affordable care,” Drilon added. Drilon said he is concerned that postponing the full implementation of the UHC could discourage poor people from seeking hospital treatment or primary health care even if they experience COVID-19 symptoms. “If COVID-19 taught us one thing, it is that we need to keep people healthy and we have to prepare for the next pandemic. UHC is the key,” he stressed. Drilon said the government, particularly the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), should exhaust all means to increase the funding for the health sector in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2021. The Senate minority leader cited the Sin Tax Reform Law which, he said, is the primary source of funding for the UHC. Aside from excise taxes on alcohol, tobacco products and sweetened beverages, the implementation of UHC is also sourced from Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), premium contributions of members, annual appropriation of the Department of Health (DOH) under the General Appropriations Act (GAA), and national government subsidy to PhilHealth. The minority leader acknowledged that while there is a need to address PhilHealth’s precarious position for it to be able to sustain its funding, it should not be at the expense of the people who are relying on UHC for their health needs. Drilon said the coronavirus disease revealed the weaknesses and inequity in the current healthcare system, which the Universal Health Care Act seeks to address. “If we learned anything about the onset of the pandemic, it is that the health sector must get a big part of the budgetary pie. The health of the people is the State’s responsibility,” Drilon reiterated. PhilHealth President and CEO Ricardo Morales recommended a delay in the implementation of the UHC law after disclosing that the state health insurer could run a budget deficit until 2024 since its collections have significantly dropped this year due to the pandemic. Morales said PhilHealth has to “conserve its resources” due to business inactivity and because of this, has to take a “very prudent approach” in rolling out new packages under the law. Sen. Christopher Lawrence Go, chair of the Senate committee on health and demography, vowed to fight for additional funding for PhilHealth. Go said he will ask the country’s economic managers to prioritize PhilHealth’s call for additional subsidy to address the needs for their COVID-19 response efforts. “Now more than ever do we need to prioritize health. We must do what we can to ensure that every Filipino can have access to universal healthcare,” Go said also in a statement.
Senate Ralph Recto(Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN) “All the more, we must proceed with implementing the UHC law. We must invest in upgrading our health infrastructure and providing better health services for our people,” Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said in a statement. “This will provide confidence and solidarity with government. The national government can and should provide subsidies to PhilHealth at this time,” Recto stressed. Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon warned against postponing the implementation of the law that would promote access to affordable care, strengthen the country’s primary health care and make Filipino people healthy to fight the virus, and described this as a step in the wrong direction. “Our neighboring countries like South Korea and Singapore are faring better in the war against COVID-19 precisely because of their effective universal health care coverage,” Drilon said in a separate statement. “Postponing the full implementation of the Universal Health Care Act is a huge misstep. While other countries are working on ways to strengthen primary health care to prevent the spread of the virus, we would hear plans to postpone access to affordable care,” Drilon added. Drilon said he is concerned that postponing the full implementation of the UHC could discourage poor people from seeking hospital treatment or primary health care even if they experience COVID-19 symptoms. “If COVID-19 taught us one thing, it is that we need to keep people healthy and we have to prepare for the next pandemic. UHC is the key,” he stressed. Drilon said the government, particularly the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), should exhaust all means to increase the funding for the health sector in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2021. The Senate minority leader cited the Sin Tax Reform Law which, he said, is the primary source of funding for the UHC. Aside from excise taxes on alcohol, tobacco products and sweetened beverages, the implementation of UHC is also sourced from Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), premium contributions of members, annual appropriation of the Department of Health (DOH) under the General Appropriations Act (GAA), and national government subsidy to PhilHealth. The minority leader acknowledged that while there is a need to address PhilHealth’s precarious position for it to be able to sustain its funding, it should not be at the expense of the people who are relying on UHC for their health needs. Drilon said the coronavirus disease revealed the weaknesses and inequity in the current healthcare system, which the Universal Health Care Act seeks to address. “If we learned anything about the onset of the pandemic, it is that the health sector must get a big part of the budgetary pie. The health of the people is the State’s responsibility,” Drilon reiterated. PhilHealth President and CEO Ricardo Morales recommended a delay in the implementation of the UHC law after disclosing that the state health insurer could run a budget deficit until 2024 since its collections have significantly dropped this year due to the pandemic. Morales said PhilHealth has to “conserve its resources” due to business inactivity and because of this, has to take a “very prudent approach” in rolling out new packages under the law. Sen. Christopher Lawrence Go, chair of the Senate committee on health and demography, vowed to fight for additional funding for PhilHealth. Go said he will ask the country’s economic managers to prioritize PhilHealth’s call for additional subsidy to address the needs for their COVID-19 response efforts. “Now more than ever do we need to prioritize health. We must do what we can to ensure that every Filipino can have access to universal healthcare,” Go said also in a statement.