Mercado looking for cure for PhilHealth’s ‘illness’

The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation's (PhilHealth) new President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Edwin Mercado said Wednesday that he sees the state insurer as having an illness, and that he is looking for its cure.

''Ako, bilang manggagamot, parang tinitingnan ko rin po ang PhilHealth na may sakit at inaalam ko rin po, ano iyong lunas. So, iyon po iyong aking unang kailangang gawin—aralin pong mabuti kung ano po iyong mga prosesong kailangang baguhin para po iyong directive po ng ating mahal na Presidente na tuluy-tuloy ang serbisyo at palalawigin pa natin iyong benepisyo,'' Mercado said at a Palace press briefing.

(As a doctor, I look at PhilHealth with illness so I'm also looking for its cure. That's the first thing we need to do, study the process that needs to be changed so that we can abide by the directive of the President for the unhampered delivery of health services and benefits.)

Mercado also said he is eyeing to digitalize the agency to improve its processes, particularly on the unpaid claims. 

''Kasi kapag naipatupad namin iyong digitization ay magagawa rin natin na iyong mga claims ay mapa-flag din iyong mga claims na maaaring sumusobra o iyong maaaring kung tawagin ay may halong kataka-taka kung bakit ganoon kalaki iyong mga claims nila. So, aayusin din natin iyong pagtatag noon through digitization,'' Mercado said. 

(If we implement the digitization, we can also address issues on claims. We will also fix this through digitization.) 

Mercado, who replaced Emmanuel Ledesma Jr., took his oath before President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. on Tuesday.

Mercado's appointment came after several health advocates have called the transfer of P60 billion funds of the state insurer to the national treasury as a “murder” of Universal Healthcare.

Mercado served as the vice chairman of the Mercado General Hospital/Qualimed Health Network since March 2021.

A Doctor of Medicine graduate of the University of the Philippines in 1987, Mercado completed his Master of Medical Sciences in Global Health Delivery from Harvard Medical School in 2023. — BM, GMA Integrated News