‘P60 billion returned to PhilHealth insufficient to cover deficit’

MANILA, Philippines — Advocates for Universal Health Care (UHC) said the P60-billion funding returned to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. is only a small amount and that PhilHealth would need additional resources to be able to expand its primary care program.

“The P60 billion does not even make a dent on the deficit funding that PhilHealth has suffered in the last three years,” Juan Antonio Perez of the UHC Collective said in an interview.

The UHC Collective is a network of health development experts supportive of UHC implementation.

According to Perez, “The total deficit stands at P356.6 billion (from 2023 to 2025) due to non-payment of the premiums of indigents at P416 billion, and non-release by the Department of Budget and Management of line items approved by Congress, that is P161 billion.”

He added that PhilHealth should focus on its primary care program to benefit more Filipinos, especially the poor.

“PhilHealth should use any additional resources to improve its primary care program rather than continuing to expand hospital services and dialysis services which is taking up 92 percent of its spending,” said Perez.

Meanwhile, independent health reform advocate Anthony Leachon has called for the full restoration of PhilHealth funds to protect patients and hospitals as well as an aggressive audit to trace every peso of the original P60 billion.?

He said there was lost opportunity when the original health fund was depleted, and the restoration is now borne by the same public purse.

“That P60 billion could have expanded PhilHealth coverage, accelerated reimbursements to hospitals, funded cancer and dialysis programs and strengthened primary care in underserved communities. Instead, patients were denied care, hospitals left unpaid and families forced into debt,” said Leachon.

He added, “Enforce accountability – former finance secretary now Executive Secretary Ralph Recto and former PhilHealth president Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. must face plunder charges for undermining the UHC Law and Sin Tax earmarking provisions.”

Leachon stressed there is a need to protect earmarked funds with stronger safeguards so health, education and social protection budgets cannot be casually reclassified as “excess.”

On Wednesday, PhilHealth confirmed that the P60 billion has been returned to the state health insurer from the National Treasury.

PhilHealth spokesman Israel Francis Pargas said the returned funds would be allocated to enhance benefit packages, strengthen internal systems and improve the efficiency of service delivery to ensure better access to health care services.