00:00Now Secretary, it seems like you're saying little about the issue of the return of the PhilHealth fund to the Bureau of the Treasury.
00:11They want to return P90 billion and the protest of some of our countrymen is in court to stop this.
00:22What do you think? Should this fund be returned?
00:26Meanwhile, we're discussing so many issues and so many solidarities that should be protected.
00:34That's a good question and it's good that I had the opportunity to explain this.
00:39You know, the fund that they're saying was taken wasn't stolen.
00:45It didn't come from a member's contribution.
00:48It also didn't come from a reserve fund.
00:51It also didn't come from investment money of PhilHealth savings.
00:55It came from a government-appropriated subsidy for the poor, senior citizens, and PWD.
01:08Every year, PhilHealth estimates how many senior citizens, PWD, and the poor.
01:17Its premium is the payment of the premium of these three sectors.
01:23Every year, they ask for a lot.
01:27What they enroll is always less by about P30 billion.
01:32This is not called savings.
01:35This is government appropriated that is not programmed.
01:40Because you asked for the money, you didn't use it for its intended use.
01:44It's not intended to pay for the hospitals and PhilHealth benefits.
01:48They get it from the premium.
01:51But when you don't enroll, it's an excess fund.
01:55You can't call it savings.
01:57For many years, PhilHealth has been using savings and depositing it in treasury bonds.
02:04The Department of Finance is now paying the treasury of interest.
02:09They're also paying it to pay the big interest.
02:12The DOF said it's wrong.
02:16Because the government, if you asked for money and you didn't use it for the purpose you said you will use it,
02:23you should return it.
02:25Correct.
02:26That is what all of our agencies are doing.
02:30So now, under the 2024 law, it is included that you can use the unprogrammed appropriations,
02:38the money given to the GOC that you didn't use,
02:43you can take the DOF and use it for other programs that are needed.
02:48So when it was released, there was 89.9.
02:50That's only three years.
02:52They just got three years, the term of BBM.
02:55So the excessive appropriations for three consecutive years,
03:00they said return it and we will use it for other things.
03:04No one opposed this.
03:05When it was explained, the DOF did a good job.
03:09They asked DOJ if it's legal.
03:12They asked COA if it's legal.
03:15They asked GOCC.
03:17They asked OGCC.
03:18And when it was presented to the board, because the board or PhilHealth will decide,
03:24no one opposed it.
03:26So it was approved.
03:28Now, what I requested to the DOF, Secretary Recto,
03:32the health advocates will be mad at us because I'm sure we should use it for health.
03:40He said yes, health for health.
03:42So the first 20 billion, we used it for the health emergency allowance because there's still 27.4 billion.
03:50So August 21, another 10 will be returned.
03:55So we don't owe anything.
03:56Well, we haven't given it to all health workers,
03:59but our promise by October is that all health workers will be paid during COVID.
04:06Now the others, we will put it in other projects of the president.
04:10There are cancer centers being built in the Philippine Lung Center.
04:15We have multi-specialty hospitals being built in Clark and other health projects.
04:22And of course, not all health will be given a bracelet.
04:27But if you ask me, the bracelet of an island, when you go to an island, it's also health-related.
04:34Because the mother who should have a cesarean, you know she dies because there's no boat at night.
04:41If you put a bracelet on her, it's just a tricycle and you can go to the hospital where there's a cesarean section.
04:47She's alive.
04:48Normally, she's dying and bleeding.
04:50So to me, I would rather see funds of the government used for actual projects that will benefit the Filipino people,
04:58than keeping it in the bank, earning interest, and asking them when they will use it.
05:06Secretary, it looks like there's no real issue.
05:11The funds that are not being used and returned to the treasury, that's the law.
05:16But there are two things. One, they say the right to health is different.
05:22Other GOCCs may return because they are not that fundamental.
05:28For your information, the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation received a bigger amount, P250 billion.
05:36This is the money that the national government is giving as a subsidy for our bank accounts in case of bank run or bank disaster.
05:45Our deposits are insured. There's no background for good management.
05:50They will just say we will use it. So it's bigger, P250 billion, three times as much as the P80 billion.
05:57They say that's not a fundamental or basic right to health.
06:03That's one thing. They say the PhilHealth fund that will be returned is different.
06:08Secondly, you mentioned that this should be the government subsidy for indirect members,
06:15the indigenous, 4Ps, PWDs, elderly.
06:19They say the problem with PhilHealth is that the support value is still low and the absorptive capacity is still low.
06:27Why didn't they want it?
06:29Actually, you're right. The problem is not the premium because the premium is subsidized by the national government.
06:37If you have support value, if you have pooled money, that's the premium you paid.
06:43That's what you should get, the subsidy for health care. You're right, I'm falling.
06:51In fact, the Department of Health has a debt of P15 billion to PhilHealth, to DOH Hospitals.
06:59That's big, P15 billion.
07:01Even now, it's not being paid.
07:04I told them to pay P15 billion instead of getting DOF money for other funds.
07:10To me, it's all about efficiency.
07:13Correct.
07:14The board of PhilHealth said that you will get a lot of money,
07:18but you won't be able to fund the members' health benefits.
07:23You will save money in the bank. That is of no use in the bank because you pay as you go insurance.
07:30We should pay the health benefits of the members and increase it if you have money.
07:36Correct.
07:37P15 billion should be paid to increase the health benefits.
07:41So it's more about policing them also. That's the other side of this.
07:45That's why PhilHealth got DOF money.
07:49They said they borrowed money to give the subsidy you asked for.
07:54When it was too much, you deposited it again in the Treasury Bank.
07:58We borrowed again.
08:00We are the ones who are paying the debt.
08:03The Treasury Bank and the government are paying for the cover.
08:09The finance is correct. The members of the board saw that it's correct.
08:15The clamor of our health sector, I agree with that.
08:18The benefits should be increased and it should be efficient.
08:22You should pay immediately because the DOF won't get it.
08:25Don't deposit it in the bank. You should pay the hospital's debts, the health workers' debts, the doctors' debts, the government hospitals' debts.
08:34You mentioned that if there's a fund, the coverage should be expanded.
08:40We interviewed Dr. Ish.
08:42I asked him why. This is emergency care.
08:45If we talk about the indigents, seniors, PWD or the HORPES,
08:52their level one entry in the hospital is usually emergency or acute cases.
08:58Shouldn't the emergency case be covered before?
09:01You know I'm a low-level emergency doctor.
09:04That's what's inside me. I've been an emergency doctor for four decades.
09:08I haven't seen coverage for ambulance and for emergency care.
09:13It's always hospitalization.
09:15So I feel that if we really want universal health care, one of the first funds should be an emergency package.
09:23We should have a package for an emergency member of PLL and an ambulance.
09:29Their package is funny.
09:32When you arrive at a hospital, you get pregnant and they say,
09:36you need a cesarean, let's move to another hospital.
09:39You know in the second hospital, you can't use PLL anymore because you already used it in the first hospital.
09:46Your ambulance hasn't answered yet. So I feel that our benefits are wrong.
09:51So I'm now chairing the benefits committee of PLL.
09:55This is one of my goals.
09:57I just want to make sure that when a Filipino is in an emergency,
10:00I just hope that PLL will answer. At least 50% or 60%.
10:05But the current support value of PLL is at 30%.
10:09It's going down.
10:11It's going down. 70% out of pocket.
10:14It's from your pocket or now they're asking other groups.
10:20Isn't the emergency care under the law that if we have a universal healthcare law, it should be covered?
10:27Correct. That's what I'm asking.
10:31PLL is a 30-year-old company and up to this day, you need to be confined to pay for the emergency room.
10:42If you were just hospitalized in the emergency room and sent home, there's no PhilHealth reimbursement to the hospital.
10:48They have a sustainability issue.
10:50So we asked, what are your actuarial projections?
10:54How many classes will you need?
10:56PhilHealth has 39 packages but this money will be given to you if you're confined.
11:04But when we talked to Dr. Ish, he said that the out-of-pocket expense is still up to 60-70%.
11:13What's not included in that, for example, the doctors, professional.
11:19Those lab tests that you went to the hospital, you need to get lab tests from others.
11:26Sometimes, medicines that are not included in the formulary.
11:31These are the medicines that are needed, especially for...
11:36They already used the formulary drug. Why are you resetting that?
11:40They already used the formulary drug. Why are you resetting that?
11:42So you're resetting the new drug.
11:45It's harmful because they are experts, they are presidents of specialty societies.
11:52They are being cautioned by the PhilHealth lawyers, why are you using that drug?
11:57Wait a minute, they are the doctors.
11:59They are the ones who know what medicine is.
12:01The question is, did the patient recover?
12:03Yes, he recovered.
12:04Maybe the doctor was right in resetting it.
12:08PhilHealth will not reverse it.
12:10The reforms that PhilHealth needs are major.
12:13But it's a pity because a single-payer system like PhilHealth is supposed to be very good.
12:20In fact, what Ish is saying is not true, that their money might run out.
12:26Even if you increase the benefits and your funding runs out, it is a pay-as-you-go insurance.
12:32What is a pay-as-you-go insurance?
12:34The insurance of your car will run out.
12:36If you don't have an accident, your money will be gone.
12:39Correct.
12:40You will have to pay another P30,000 to P50,000 the following year
12:44so that your car is still covered in case of an accident.
12:47That's what PhilHealth is.
12:49PhilHealth will never lose money.
12:51So don't believe the PhilHealth lawyers who are saying that the money might run out.
12:55I don't believe that because if the money runs out,
12:59the government will fund PhilHealth.
13:03Correct.
13:09Correct.
13:10It just requires good management.
13:12I've been changing this for a long time and you have heard me say,
13:15PhilHealth's money will never run out.
13:18I'm not an actuarial, but when they presented this to me,
13:22I said sir, it will run out by 2028.
13:25I said, what? The money will run out by 2028?
13:28Why don't we spend it all this year, 2024?
13:31So that there will be a lot of benefits.
13:33So the views of the PhilHealth lawyers are different from mine
13:37and the views of other economists.
13:39I feel that PhilHealth needs to be fixed.
13:42A lot of things need to be fixed for PhilHealth to run.
13:46Because this is the key to our universal health coverage.
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