The Commission on Audit (COA) conducted the first batch of the Online Training on the Handbook on the Financial Transactions of the Sangguniang Kabataan (HFTSK) on 26 February 2021 to help youth civil leaders realize financial independence in the management of their funds.
A total of 45 SK officials from different barangays in Metro Manila, Baguio City, Rizal, Batangas, Pangasinan, Zambales, Tarlac, Quezon, Mindoro, Eastern Samar, Southern Leyte, Sorsogon and Davao Oriental participated in the training conducted by the Commission’s Government Accountancy Sector (GAS) and the Professional and Institutional Development Sector
The Commission on Audit (COA) joined the celebration of National Women’s Month (NWM) which highlights women’s participation in battling the COVID 19 pandemic with the additional theme “Juana Laban sa Pandemya: Kaya.”
The theme adds another dimension in this year’s campaign to focus on gender issues that became more prominent during the pandemic and women who have thrived despite the circumstances, among others. The 2017-2022 theme of the NWM celebration “WE Make CHANGE for Women” aims to inform and engage women as stakeholders making “change” a conscious effort, strengthen the implementation of the Magna Carta of Women through various gender and development (GAD) platforms and promote gender equality and women empowerment.
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COA officials and personnel participate in the virtual opening program of the National Women’s Month celebration on 1 March 2021. |
COA Chairperson Michael G. Aguinaldo said the challenges brought by the pandemic make advancing gender equality and women empowerment more important especially for the marginalized and vulnerable sectors. “COA has intensified the implementation of various programs to advance women empowerment. We continuously conduct capacity building programs that cater to the needs and concerns of every COA employee, believing that everyone deserves to be given a chance to realize their full potential regardless of gender,” he said.
The Commission on Audit (COA) conducted a performance audit of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) All Case Rate (ACR) Payment Scheme covering the period since its implementation in 2011 until June 30, 2020.
Previously, PhilHealth utilized the Fee-for-Service payment scheme, health care institutions (HCIs) such as hospitals and clinics were reimbursed an amount based on the actual charges for the patient’s treatment. This led to delays in the reimbursement due to differences in rates and fees charged by each HCIs and the difficulty in validating such charges. In some instances, this also resulted in bloated charges.
Under the ACR Payment Scheme, PhilHealth pays all claims using a case rate which is a predetermined fixed rate for each covered case or disease. For example, natural childbirth has a case rate of ₱5,000, which will be paid uniformly among all HCIs. The result is that instead of undergoing the process of computing the reimbursements based on actual costs, the HCI will be reimbursed a fix amount, which may be more or less than the actual cost. The idea behind the ACR, which is utilized in other jurisdictions as well, is to incentivize HCIs to be more efficient. If the case rate for a specific treatment is lower than the actual cost, the HCI will try to be more efficient in the costing of the treatment. On the other hand, if the case rate is higher than the actual cost, the HCI gets to keep the difference as a form of “efficiency gains.”