Medical groups urge higher PhilHealth funding, phaseout of MAIFIP

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s medical societies yesterday urged President Marcos and Congress to allocate a sufficient budget for the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.(PhilHealth) and to phase out the Department of Health’s Medical Assistance for Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) program.

In a statement, 68 health groups led by the Healthcare Professionals Alliance Against COVID-19 (HPAAC) called on the government to strengthen PhilHealth funding while gradually reducing reliance on MAIFIP.

“The government should move beyond promises of greater health benefits and ensure adequate funding to fulfill these commitments,” the groups said.

The bicameral conference committee for the 2026 General Appropriations Bill (House Bill 4058) increased the proposed MAIFIP budget to P51 billion, while allocating P69.78 billion for PhilHealth insurance premiums for the poor.

“Despite the increase of P16.52 billion, this allocation still falls short of the government’s obligation under the Universal Health Care (UHC),” HPAAC said.

The group noted that the UHC Act mandates the national government to fully subsidize the premiums of 24.5 million indirect contributors.

“Therefore, the PhilHealth budget for 2026 should be at least P147 billion. The current allocation of P69.78 billion leaves a significant funding gap,” it added.

While acknowledging the importance of expanding MAIFIP coverage to 1.2 million Filipinos, the groups stressed that this should not come at the expense of health insurance for 24.5 million individuals who cannot afford it.

“Even if guarantee letters are removed, MAIFIP shifts health care from a rights-based approach to one based on individual discretion, removing safeguards required by the UHC Act that assure cost-effectiveness, affordability and equitable distribution of benefits,” HPAAC stressed.

Among the signatories were the Philippine Medical Association, Philippine College of Physicians, Philippine College of Surgeons, Philippine Association of Medical Technologists, Philippine League of Government and Private Midwives Inc., Pediatric Nephrology Society of the Philippines, Philippine Academic Society of Social and Community Medicine, Philippine Academy of Family Physicians, Philippine College of Chest Physicians, Philippine College of Emergency Medicine, Philippine College of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism and the Philippine College of Geriatric Medicine.

Also supporting the statement were the Philippine Dermatological Society, Philippine Heart Association, Philippine Society of Medical Oncology, Philippine Society of Nephrology, Philippine Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Philippine Society of Pediatric Hematology, Philippine Society of Public Health Physicians, Philippine Spine Society and the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines.