PhilHealth vows to improve services after Bong Go’s criticism

The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) on Monday committed to continuously expand its benefits and improve its services, following the criticisms made by Senate Committee on Health chairperson Bong Go in a recent campaign rally. 

In a message to GMA News Online, PhilHealth spokesperson Israel Francis Pargas highlighted several initiatives of the state health insurer to enhance their services, such as implementing a 50% increase in around 9,000 health packages since the year started, and the removal of the 45-day benefit limit in hospitalization, as well as the single period of confinement rule. 

“Ang PhilHealth ay kaisa ni Sen. Bong Go sa pagpapalawig ng mga benepisyong PhilHealth para higit na mapakinabangan ng mga Pilipino,” Pargas said. 

(PhilHealth is one with Sen. Bong Go in expanding PhilHealth benefits to better benefit Filipinos.) 

In a  PDP Laban campaign sortie in Butuan City on Saturday, Go expressed dissatisfaction with the services of PhilHealth despite having billions in excess funds.

“Lahat ng Pilipino, miyembro tayo ng PhilHealth. Kaya galit ako sa PhilHealth dahil sobra sobra ang pondo ninyo, ibinalik niyo nga sa national government ang pondo ninyo, kulang pa rin ang serbisyo ninyo,” the reelectionist senator said.

(All Filipinos are members of PhilHealth. That's why I'm angry at PhilHealth because they have plenty of funds, they even returned their excess funds to the national government, but their services are still lacking.)

Last year, PhilHealth remitted P60 billion to the national treasury, while the Supreme Court halted the transfer of the remaining P29.9 billion of its total P89.9 billion in excess funds.

The SC concluded oral arguments on the consolidated petitions seeking to block the transfer of PhilHealth's excess funds back to the state coffers. —RF, GMA Integrated News