Text by: Jennifer F. Manongdo
Photos by: Joseph A. Bautista and Jennifer F. Manongdo
Dr. Antonio Dans (right) speaks during the White Coat Rally. Looking on are representatives from medical societies who also attended the event.
Doctors from various medical groups gathered at the Guazon Hall of the Philippine General Hospital and appealed anew to the Department of Finance (DOF) to stop the transfer of P89.9 billion of unused funds from the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to the National Treasury.
A second tranche of funds worth P10 billion is set to be transferred to the National Treasury on Aug. 21, 2024, following the first remittance of P20 billion in May. The medical societies asserted that the transfer of funds is illegal based on section 11 of RA 11223 or the Universal Healthcare Act which states that, ‘whenever actual reserves exceed the required ceiling at the end of the fiscal year, the excess of the Philhealth reserve fund shall be used to increase the program’s benefits and decrease the amount of members’ contributions.’
In an official statement released during the event, the doctors urged the DOF ‘to be sensitive to public opinion and exercise caution.’
“Further, it is unjust to claim that PhilHealth has ‘excess funds’ and even more unjust to take these funds for other purposes, when the unmet need for healthcare is enormous, 44% of health expenditures are shouldered out-of-pocket by Filipino households. We are daily witnesses to patients who are unable to get the care they desperately need due to the inefficiencies within our social health insurance system. We strongly believe that the solution to PhilHealth’s inability to use its funds is not to strip Filipinos of healthcare funding but to implement immediate and substantial PhilHealth reforms such as increasing the scope and coverage of benefit packages,” the statement read.
Members of the Philippine Physical Therapy Association, Inc., Philippine College of Physicians, Philippine Nurses Association, Philippine Pharmacists Association, Philippine Rheumatology Association, Philippine Neurological Association, Philippine Academy of Pediatric Pulmonologists, Philippine League of Government and Private Midwives, Philippine Pediatric Society, and Philippine Society for Reproductive Medicine and other medical specialty groups signed the statement.
Former Health Secretaries Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan, Manuel M. Dayrit, Francisco T. Duque III, Esperanza Cabral, Enrique T. Ona, and Paulyn Jean Ubial are also signatories to the petition.
“Maraming gastos na hindi sakop ng outpatient…kami (doctors) na nandito, halos araw araw nakikilala namin ang mga taong narito at nakukuba sa gastos, hindi makapag-angiogram, hindi makapagsalin ng dugo, MRI ‘o CT scan dahil ang sakit nila outpatient care…lahat tayo affected nyan. Kaya nga pinaglalaban natin ang Universal Health Care,” former UP College of Medicine professor and member of the Healthcare Professionals Alliance Against COVID-19 (HPAAC) steering committee, Dr. Antonio Dans said.
Dr. Dans cited a study, which revealed that Filipinos rely mostly on PhilHealth for their health expenditures. If this does not suffice, they resort to three other options: Pangungutang, Pagmamakaawa, and Pagtitiis.
In July, the medical groups urged President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to stop the diversion of PhilHealth funds but to no avail. This led the groups to file a petition to the Supreme Court to block the transfer of PhilHealth funds to finance other government projects.
The Supreme Court has ordered lawmakers and concerned officials from the executive branch to comment on the petition filed by the Philippine Medical Association.#
Dr. Dans cites a study showing that Filipinos resort to begging and silent suffering when they are unable to afford healthcare fees.
Doctors from various medical societies trooped to the Guazon Hall of the PGH to protest the transfer of PhilHealth funds to the National Treasury.
