THE Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) said the P60 billion the national government is returning to its funds will be a big boost to the Zero Balance Billing (ZBB) program of the Department of Health (DOH).
In a televised public briefing, PhilHealth Spokesman Dr. Israel Pargas yesterday said having more funds at its disposal will allow the agency to increase the benefits of its members.
“If the coverage of PhilHealth is bigger, the government or the DOH will pay less to ensure the ZBB program is implemented,” said Pargas.
“Thus, we really need the P60 billion to expand our benefits, which, in turn, will allow our counterpart (DOH) to shoulder a smaller amount for the ZBB,” he added.
During his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr announced the full implementation of the Zero Balance Billing program in all DOH hospitals nationwide.
The program will have PhilHealth and DOH covering hospital bills, professional fees, laboratory tests, operating room services, and medicines, provided that the patients stay in the basic ward of the facility.
Aside from its efficient utilization, Pargas said PhilHealth is also committed to the transparent use of the returned funds.
He said the state health insurer will ensure that there is no room for corrupt practices in the use of the P60 billion.
“We believe in the transparency rule. PhilHealth should now be able to provide services that are faster, fairer, and more trustworthy,” he said.
“When we release our new benefits, we will include monitoring services and anti-fraud control measures in order to ensure that our benefits are not fraudulent,” added Pargas.
Last Saturday, Marcos announced the return of the P60 billion in excess funds to PhilHealth.
