By means of John Victor D. Ordoñez And Chloe Mari A. Hufana, Reporters
Filipino President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. According to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), an orthopedic surgeon trained by the US has appointed as president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth).
In a statement, the PCO said that Edwin M. Mercado took his oath as head of the State insurer for the president in the presidential palace on Tuesday.
“Mercado has devoted his work to guaranteeing just access to the quality of medical care and using technology to strengthen health systems, in particular in financial management and first -line care programs,” it added.
Mr. Mercado, who has been vice chairman of Mercado General Hospital since 2021, replaced Emmanuel R. Ledesma, Jr., who was confronted with criticism because he had not increased any benefits for members, even after the agency has surplus funds worth P90 billion had explained.
In a statement, Philhealth welcomed the appointment of the surgeon and said that his management experience would help the agency to carry out his health care programs.
“We are convinced that his leadership will continue to successfully implement the mandate of the National Health Insurance Program and fulfill the ambitions of Universal Healthcare for all 115 million Filipinos,” said it.
Mercado obtained his medical degree at the University of the Philippines in 1987 and a master’s degree in medical sciences at the Harvard Medical School in 2023.
He was also a teacher at the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health on Medical Research Methods and Implementation Science.
The surgeon is also a fellow with the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Division of Global Health Equity since July 2023, where he studies the use of artificial intelligence as a health workers in the community.
In December, the legislators stripped Philhealth of P74 billion in a subsidy this year, referring to his almost P90 billion reserve funds that can be used to increase the benefits of the members.
In October, the Supreme Court (SC) blocked the transfer of P29.9 billion – the last tranche of Philhealth’s P89.9 billion in surplus funds – to the national treasury.
The surplus Philhealth funds would have been used to support non -programmed loans with the value of P203.1 billion, which would support health, infrastructure and social services programs, critics have said.
In August last year, the Senate passed the last reading a bill that this year wants to reduce Philhealth Premiums to 3.25% from 5% last year under the Universal Health Care Act.
The measure determines Philhealth Premium contributions at 3.25% for people with a monthly income from P10,000 to P50,000, with an incremental increase of 0.25% per year
In a statement, Senator Mary Grace Natuversidad S. Poe-Llamanzares said that the new CEO of the Agency is confronted with a “gigantic task” in guaranteeing reliable and accessible care services for all Filippinos.
“Philhealth members who now cough up higher premium contributions must feel the benefits of the health care system, or at least have to have peace of mind in the event of need,” she said.
“The new Philhealth management must also arrange its remaining shortcomings for health workers, hospitals and other institutions,” she added.
In the meantime, Advocate General Menardo I. Guevarra said that the transfer of P89.9 billion Philhealth funds to the treasury is a temporary measure to tackle the availability of the fund for important state programs.
There is “no dark or sinister plan” when transferring the surplus funds to the national treasury, he told a hearing of the Supreme Court about a lawsuit that questions the transaction.
“I assure the honorable court and the people who, contrary to what has been depicted by some critics, was not a dark or sinister plan behind the transfer of the P60 millional fund balance from Philhealth to the treasury,” he said.
“The executive power determines the budgetary priorities and activities of the government in accordance with the available income and boundaries,” said the main lawyer. “The congress in turn considers and acts and acts about the president’s budget proposals,” he added, referring to jurisprudence.
He added that it is the task of the Ministry of Finance to generate and manage financial resources to achieve the development objectives of the state.
“As was happiness, the money needed to provide these essential services is not easy on our side of the world,” said Mr Guevarra. “But as they say, scarcity is breeding creativity. And often creative and innovative solutions are born of something like that often as common sense. “
Court hearing
In the meantime, Zy-Za Nadine N. Suzara, executive director of the Institute for Leadership, Empowerment and Democracy, noticed that nearly 20% of the national budgets from 2022 to 2024 from Pork Barrel or discretionary funds are used by legislators for local Projects that are often linked to patronage policy for local projects.
“My analysis of the national budgets from 2022 to 2024 shows that Pork Barrel now is almost 20% of the total national budget,” she told the hearing as a friend of the court.
“If it is not checked, politicians will remain the annual national budgets and all available funds of agencies or government possession and controlled companies that are considered inefficient,” she added.
Even as a friend of the court, Arts Beverly Lorraine C. HO said that Philhealth had made progress over the years when offering “incremental” and “fragmentary” health care to Filipinos.
“For example, covered intramural diseases are generally wide, but on average only 40% of the total hospital accounts are covered by Philhealth,” she said. She added that of the 9,000 Case Rate packages of Philhealth, only 17 disease conditions have been upgraded to Z – benefits – a package of services that help cover the costs of catastrophic diseases for Filipinos.
The rest of the Case Rate packages – a fixed amount that Philhealth pays a healthcare provider for the treatment of a patient with a specific condition – are paid by patients from their own pocket, she said.
“For the first time in history, we actually talk about the necessary legal instruments and financial resources, not only to offer every Filipino insurance coverage, but also to extend benefits to a level needed to finance health care and to offer that Filipinos deserves, “Mrs. Ho said, referring to the Universal Health Care Act of 2019.