PhilHealth Officials, Doctors Earned Illegal Sums Thru False Ailment

 

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

One of our Davao Fruits customers, an executive of  Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), told me in a huddle one dusk at our house about a shocker:

The sudden spiked of the number of people inflicted with  urinary tract infection (UTI).

He said they immediately scrambled from their chairs and investigated a hospital in Batangas when the numbers of U.T.I incredibly increase there.

“March iyon paano biglang tumaas ang may mga UTI,” he wondered.

When they investigated, PhilHealth officials found that a hospital there changed the circumcision records of the children of an Azucarera there to U.T.I because the latter case has an insurance from the government of Three Thousand Pesos for each patient while the government will not reimburse the hospital with a sum on the former.

                  Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) Photo Credit: Google.com

“Grabe, pag hundreds iyong pasyente laki ng kita ng scheming hospital owner and their conspirator surgeons there sa rebates!” I exclaimed.

He agreed with me that machination like this one that includes those ailment with a higher insurance from the government ensued with connivance of the officials of the PhilHealth’s regional office.

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Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri earlier accused PhilHealth officials of corruption after he got information that they were in cahoots with the management of an 18-bed infirmary in the Davao Region that got P10 million a year in benefit claims and clinics sharing “rebates”.

These are among the “money-making schemes” in Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) that the Senate would delve into, he said.

***

Resigned PhilHealth Anti-Fraud Officer Thorrsson Montes Keith has tagged Health Secretary Francisco Duque III as the "Godfather" of the alleged mafia in the health insurance corporation.

"Maituturing ko na siya ang Godfather ng mafia ," he told Senators during the 3rd Senate inquiry into the corruption allegations in the embattled agency on Tuesday.

  When Senator Risa Hontiveros asked Duque for his reaction on Keith's allegation. "Sabi po ni Attorney Keith, kayo raw 'yung Godfather ng [PhilHealth] mafia? Do you have a reaction to that?"

Duque replied: "I deny this. Absolutely malicious and without basis. I do not wish to dignify that allegation."

(You can read my selected columns at mortzortigoza.blogspot.com and articles at Pangasinan News Aro. You can send comments too at totomortz@yahoo.com)