PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. has named Emmanuel Rufino Ledesma Jr. the acting president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the country’s health insurance provider Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).
Ledesma took his oath on Thursday before Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, the Office of the Press Secretary said in a statement.
The state insurer was previously manned by officer-in-charge Eli Dino Santos.
Ledesma formerly served as the president and CEO of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation, which manages the orderly sale and privatization of power assets.
PhilHealth is tasked with the implementation of the National Health Insurance Program, the goals of which are to offer health insurance coverage and ensure that all Filipinos have access to healthcare services that are cheap and available.
PhilHealth is a government-owned and controlled corporation attached to the Department of Health. It was recently plagued by controversies and scandals, including reimbursement scams, fund mismanagement, and treatment of ghost patients.
Under the government’s proposed 2023 national budget, the underperforming state insurer received an increased P100.3 billion budget compared to P79.99 billion national funding in 2022.
