LAOAG CITY (July 22) – Well-off people, not paupers, were mostly the recipients of PhilHealth insurance cards in Ilocos Norte. Gov. Imee Marcos questioned this mess after she received reports that many PhilHealth cardholders in the province were mostly relatives or proteges of local politicians and even balikbayans.
The PhilHealth benefit is intended to help the indigent families, she said. Hospitals, especially private clinics, would go broke if their patients are all PhilHealth cardholders, the lady governor added.
She wanted to correct this erratic system in an effort to redeem the good purpose of PhilHealth medical care.
