Prof: PhilHealth idle funds missed chance for services

An economics professor argued that PhilHealth's idle funds represent a missed opportunity to provide healthcare services to Filipinos.

Professor Orville Jose Solon testified as an amicus curiae during the Supreme Court's oral arguments on the transfer of these excess funds.

He stated that public funds should be used efficiently and not left idle, as excess funds represent a missed opportunity to pay for services.

Solon cited several factors contributing to the accumulation of unspent funds, including a lack of a strong administrative information system, insufficient actuarial technical foundation, and failure to link operating budgets with performance and benefit delivery.

He emphasized that if the Supreme Court decides the funds should remain with PhilHealth, it should be contingent on reforms to ensure efficient spending.

Without these changes, Solon warned, the funds would remain underutilized, delaying improvements to the healthcare system.