(Eagle News) — Senator Risa Hontiveros has called for “an urgent and comprehensive” probe into the funds being used and released by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) following reports PhilHealth funds were misused to pay for the dialysis treatments of deceased patients.
“The gravity of the recent allegations should prompt government to check if every peso under the PhilHealth is indeed being used in a manner compliant with laws and the PhilHealth’s mandate. We cannot allow fraud and greed to impede the effective delivery of health services to the people,” Hontiveros, a member of the PhilHealth board from 2014 to 2015, said.
She said cases of “fraud and abuse of the government’s health insurance system must be fixed before the implementation of the Universal Healthcare Act, which will provide all Filipinos membership in a universal health insurance program which they can use to avail of health services.”
According to the senator, the reported scheme “may have also led to the deaths of people who would have otherwise benefited from PhilHealth’s programs.”
“The funds under our national health insurance program are supposed to empower our people especially the poor and bring them closer to affordable and effective healthcare. Any misuse of these funds is a betrayal of this vital mission, and must be stopped,” she said.
WellMed Dialysis Center denied on Thursday, June 6, the allegations it was processing claims of deceased dialysis patients, as claimed by two of its former employees, Edwin Roberto and Liezel Santos.
According to WellMed’s legal team Gargantiel Ilagan & Atanante, it was Roberto, the company’s former assistant manager, and Santos, former cashier, who “connived” to execute the “fraudulent scheme.”
PhilHealth CEO and President Roy Ferrer said they have already filed 28 administrative cases against WellMed over the allegations.
