(We yield this space to the statement of Migrante International, an organization of migrant workers, due to its timeliness. – Ed.)
THE RECENT PhilHealth scandal involving unlawful “ghost claims” points to the rotten state of a profit-oriented and privately-dominated healthcare system in the Philippines. Since PhilHealth membership is mandatory for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), it is just one of the many state exactions being relished by a corrupt regime. Migrante views this crime as a horrible offence against OFWs and their dependents.
At this period when many OFW families are battered by the unreasonably high cost of healthcare and all sorts of state exactions, we find it insulting that our hard-earned contributions are getting funneled into the over-bloated pockets of reprobate thieves.
Recently, the government has been bragging about its Universal Health Care Law which automatically enrols all Filipinos under PhilHealth membership. Contrary to what the name suggests, there is really nothing universal about the much vaunted healthcare law. In fact, we see this as just another government scam to subsidize private profit.
There is no question that the privately-dominated healthcare system in the country enables large-scale corruption. Massive theft has been going in for many years. Since 2013, over P154 billion was lost due to fraud and overpayment. What’s more outrageous is that the regime is hell-bent in recovering this huge amount of losses through a hike in the contribution rate of PhilHealth members. Migrante International is one with OFWs and their families in opposing this atrocious hike. OFW pockets are being suctioned dry with various forms of state exactions while corrupt vultures feast on our hard-earned money.
Despite the administration’s excessive braggadocio, the Philippines is stricken with underfunded hospitals that are rapidly getting devoured by intensified commercialization and privatization. Our Filipino healthcare workers are forced to endure being overworked in long shifts under meager pay and poor facilities. This painful reality is driving thousands of Filipino healthcare professionals to search for better opportunities overseas.
Such is the deteriorating state of the Philippine healthcare system. This most recent PhilHealth scandal is just a dot in the larger scheme of corruption in this field. The profit-oriented and privately-dominated healthcare system overindulged with subsidies from the government through public contributions in PhilHealth. This is the biggest form of theft that deprives Filipinos of their right to genuine universal health service.
