Timely intervention | The Manila Times

The Supreme Court’s decision to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the additional transfer of funds from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to the National Treasury is a welcome development as it immediately stops the government from siphoning off P89.9 billion that is supposed to cover the medical expenses of the fund members.

The TRO was issued in response to three consolidated petitions challenging the government’s reallocation of excess reserve funds from government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) to support unscheduled appropriations in the national budget.

The petitioners argued that the reallocation of PhilHealth funds goes against the intended use of GOCC reserves, jeopardizing health care services for Filipinos who depend on PhilHealth support.

The Department of Finance (DoF), on the other hand, maintains that its move to sweep the idle, unused and excess funds of GOCCs is mandated under the General Credit Law and has consulted extensively with legal experts from the Governance Commission to GOCC. , the Government Corporate Counsel and the Audit Commission to ensure compliance with the law.

The DoF says it has received legal notices stating that PhilHealth’s unused government grants are not part of its reserve funds, nor are they revenues whose use is restricted by the Universal Health Care Act. It adds that the funds will be used to pay unpaid benefits to health workers during the coronavirus pandemic, the wage standardization program for government employees, the modernization program for the military and several large-scale infrastructure projects under the Build Better More program. .

Despite public opposition, fund transfers from PhilHealth reserves began in May, when P20 billion was transferred. In August, another 10 billion lei were transferred, and in October, 30 billion lei. The fourth scheduled transfer of 89.9 billion lei, which the TRO stops, was scheduled for November.

There is something to be said for the DoF’s effort to follow the law and be transparent about how the transferred funds will be used. On the other hand, as I have pointed out before in this space, the legal arguments miss the more important point: any funds in the hands of PhilHealth are intended to provide health care services, either directly by reimbursing services from medical providers, either indirectly. in the form of expenses incurred by PhilHealth for its administrative operations.

As mentioned earlier, the TRO was in response to three major petitions arguing the same point. Each petition claims that the diversion of PhilHealth’s excess funds could compromise the stability of the insurance system and jeopardize the benefits provided to millions of Filipinos.

Senator Bong Go, chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, notes that PhilHealth funds are critical to meeting the medical needs of poor Filipinos.

Instead of removing “excess funds” from PhilHealth to be used in other programs, he says, the government should use these funds to increase case rates, expand benefit packages, reduce premium contributions, provide preventive and emergency care, to provide dental and vision care, and provide free medicine, assistive devices and other health needs for the poor.

Like Go, we believe that the solution to unused subsidies, especially in the case of PhilHealth, is not for them to be returned to the National Treasury for use in other programs, but for the state insurance company to maximize its resources for the public benefit and to use the funds for the purposes that were specifically allocated to them.

A first and important step is to order a thorough and detailed audit of PhilHealth’s financial operations to determine why so much money has not been used for its intended purpose, especially when the needs of its members are so substantial.

A second and crucial step is for the petitioners to prepare for oral arguments before the Supreme Court, scheduled for January 2025, to convince the justices that the transfer of PhilHealth funds violates the Filipino people’s right to health.

After all, the TRO is only an interim measure, albeit a welcome one. A victory would be the issuance of a status quo ante order to restore the status quo ante before the challenged fund transfers were made – and thereafter to ensure that PhilHealth becomes more efficient in using the funds for their stated purpose.