funds & corruption
Philipine Health Insurance Corporations or PhilHealth was created in 1995 to implement universal health coverage in the Philippines. It is a tax-exempt, government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) of the Philippines, and is attached to the Department of Health. Its stated goal is to "ensure a sustainable national health insurance program for all" but a few weeks ago, there is a news that a P13-billion has been corrupted The UHC law does mandate that PhilHealth increase members’ contributions at 0.5 percent increments beginning 2021, until it reaches the 5 percent limit in 2025. Under the new payment scheme that raised contributions to 3.5 percent, those earning below P10,000 will have to pay P350 per month, while those earning P70,000 per month or higher have to contribute P2,450 a month. People earning between those sums are expected to pay the state health insurer from P350 to P2,449.99 a month.
The increase has been described as “inhumane,” “untimely,” and “onerous,” coming as it did in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic which has thrown the country into an economic tailspin, with businesses closing down amid quarantine restrictions, Filipinos losing their jobs, and people barely subsisting on government handouts. As Senator Panfilo Lacson said, “Why punish members with higher premiums for the benefit of the corrupt and the incompetent?” And while President Duterte continuously defending his top officials about the scandals, he eventually ordered the agency to stop collecting the increased premiums and will run investigation.