Marcos: Resigned PhilHealth chief found post difficult

Erstwhile Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) president Emmanuel Ledesma resigned because he might have found the job difficult President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said.

Marcos has appointed orthopedic surgeon Dr. Edwin Mercado as the new chief of the state insurer.

''Well, yes, he left his position already," Marcos told reporters regarding the change in the PhilHealth leadership.

Ledesma's resignation and Mercado's appointment come amid questions on the legality of transferring billions of pesos in PhilHealth funds to the national treasury.

The issue is now pending in the Supreme Court.

"Manny Ledesma very much comes from the private sector. So, I think he found the transition to be jarring, shall we say,'' Marcos said.

In October 2024, the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order against the further transfer of the PhilHealth funds to the national treasury.

So far, PhilHealth said that P60 billion has been transferred to the national treasury with only P29.9 billion remaining with the agency.

A total of P89.9 billion excess funds of PhilHealth is expected to be transmitted to the state coffers on a staggered basis

The High Tribunal already started to hold oral arguments on the matter.

Meanwhile, Health Secretary Ted Herbosa on Thursday met with Mercado to discuss potential reforms in the state health insurer agency. 

According to the Department of Health (DOH), which is PhilHealth's supervising agency, Herbosa and Mercado talked about reforms like digitalization and benefit expansion in a pay-as-you-go system.

“The two alumni of the UP College of Medicine, who are also surgeons and health systems experts, agreed on the job of PhilHealth, that is, to pay the health benefits of its members,” the DOH said in a statement.

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," Mercado said at a Palace press briefing.

"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,'' he added.

(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.) –NB, GMA Integrated News