(Eagle News)–Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Friday, June 14, said scams such as the ghost dialysis involving a PhilHealth-accredited health provider in Quezon City can be avoided if, among others, the Philippine Statistics Authority has an enhanced data-sharing capability.
In a statement, Drilon noted there were reports the PSA had refused to confirm whether the patients of WellMed Dialysis Center claiming benefits with PhilHealth had died.
“What danger would it pose to the deceased person, or his or her family, if Philhealth knows that he or she is already dead?None. This is just a factual question answerable by just yes or no, but is very important for Philhealth and other agencies disbursing public funds for the benefits of claimants to know in order to verify the legitimacy of a claim and prevent fake, illegal and fraudulent transactions,” Drilon said.
According to Drilon, the establishment of a single national ID system can also help.
He said once the national ID system is in place, agencies tasked to disburse public funds for the benefit of claimants, including PhilHealth, the Social Security System, the Government Service and Insurance System, and the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office, among others, can readily verify information about the claimant before they disburse public funds.
He said the law’s implementing rules and regulations also emphasized that the death of the registered person would cause the deactivation of the person’s permanent identification number.
The Palace has said the pilot-testing of the program would start from September to December.
