Review Philhealth’s actuarial life–drilon

FOLLOWING the conclusion of the Senate inquiry into the fund mess in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Thursday pressed for the creation of an ad hoc panel of “actuarial experts” to assess the financial status of Philhealth and its ability to sustain the health expenses of its members.

The Senator suggested creating an ad hoc committee composed of experts from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), the Social Security System (SSS) and the Insurance Commission to carry out the task as soon as possible.

Drilon asserts the need for the review, saying it is crucial to determine Philhealth’s actual fund today to verify how long it will last.

This, he added, will also enable lawmakers to assess the financial stability of Philhealth in order to pinpoint the appropriate subsidy the national government needs to provide.

The Senator noted there was no “clear information” on the remaining funds of the governmentowned and controlled corporation.

The Senate Minoriy Leader noted it came from Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez himself that Philhealth’s data was a mess (“magulo”), which was why they do not know exactly how much is left in reserve funds.

Drilon recalled that in a Senate hearing, acting Philhealth Senior Vice President Nerissa r. Santiago estimated that Philhealth funds may last only up to 2021 if the pandemic continues.

In a bid to address the problem, Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Senate President Pro Tempore ralph recto backed the move to tap actuarial experts, apart from assuring allocation of over P71 billion budget for Philhealth this year.