PHILIPPINE Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) has enough money and surplus to improve benefits next year even without government funding, Finance Secretary Ralph. G. Recto said.
“PhilHealth has enough resources to meet their obligations and even improve the benefit packages for 2025,” Mr. Recto, a board member of PhilHealth, told reporters on Tuesday.
“They have enough money, and they have a lot more money to spend in 2025.”
Lawmakers decided to cut PhilHealth’s provincial funding that was supposed to be P74 billion under the proposed 2025 budget, citing billions in unused funds.
According to PhilHealth’s financial statement, the government’s insurance fund as of the end of June was at P280.57 billion. However, this decreased by 16.54% from P336.16 billion in the first half of last year.
Mr. Recto noted that the savings fund is sufficient to cover the benefits of its members.
“What I understand is that there was a board meeting about a few days ago and they increased the benefits package by 50%. Therefore, the operating budget of PhilHealth next year is estimated at P280 billion,” he said.
However, the Finance Secretary said he would like to “improve benefit packages and reduce out-of-pocket costs.”
PhilHealth CEO Emmanuel R. Ledesma said PhilHealth is “financially strong” to support its operations and finance the health care costs of Filipinos despite Congress’ move to deny it government funding next year.
Mr. Ledesma told lawmakers on Tuesday that the state health insurance has an accumulated fund of P150 billion, reserves totaling P280 billion, and investment resources of P490 billion.
“PhilHealth is still a very healthy organization at the moment,” he told lawmakers during a House of Representatives hearing.
“These statistics clearly show that PhilHealth is financially strong, in a good position to support operations and fully capable of addressing the health needs of our 115 million members,” he added.
In a separate statement on Tuesday, the state insurer also said benefits would improve and continue to be paid. It would be better to give the government a reason to give it funding to use for long-term development, it added.
‘DIRECT ATTACK’
A coalition of labor groups, however, criticized the proposed funding of the empty budget, calling it “a direct attack on social justice and the Constitution.”
The NAGKAISA Labor Coalition, the country’s largest coalition of labor groups, appealed to President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to oppose the budget, restore PhilHealth funding, and restructure government spending to prioritize public welfare over what he described as excessive political and political appropriations. infrastructure projects.
“Zero subsidy is not just bad policy – it is bad social justice,” NAGKAISA Chairman Jose Sonny G. Matula said in a statement.
Delays in PhilHealth payments have already forced hospitals to reduce services and leave health workers without compensation, NAGKAISA said. Without funding, these problems could worsen, leaving patients and facilities struggling to stay afloat.
Mr. Matula argued that Mr. Marcos had been misled by advisers and questioned the accuracy of the figures cited.
“PhilHealth’s share of hospital expenses is not enough. “Without the subsidy, families will have no choice but to use land, homes, and even basic household items just to be able to pay for treatment,” added Mr. Matula in mixed English and Filipino.
If the President signs the 2025 budget, the group said it is preparing to seek relief before the Supreme Court for violating the constitutional mandate to prioritize health and education.
The group urged Mr. Marcos to veto the 2025 national budget and restore PhilHealth funding, but the President on Monday defended the decision to remove government funding from the provincial health insurance citing its reserves.
PhilHealth “has P500-billion in reserves and their annual operating cost is less than P100 billion…They have enough money to continue,” Mr. Marcos told the press at the presidential palace.
Critics argue that PhilHealth is already insolvent, with assets lower than its liabilities, and that withdrawing government funding could exacerbate its financial instability.
Despite this concern, Mr. Marcos emphasized that PhilHealth has sufficient funds to continue its services and is effective in providing coverage, including expanded services for cancer patients.
bicam also faced criticism for measures to reduce the budget of the Department of Education (DepEd) by P10 billion, which Senate President Jose Francis “Chiz” G. Escudero said could be handled with unused DepEd funds.
“The President can add any item to the budget from savings or unused items in the budget,” he said in his message to reporters.
“There are many resources to expand. “The DepEd and its secretary should know because the budget negotiations presentations regarding the use of the non-cash fund come from them,” he added.
Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” M. Angara has previously cut the budget, saying in an X post on Monday, “It looks like congress wants us to sink even more.”
In particular, DepEd can use the unused P10.034 billion from its P13.068-billion in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2022 for its computer system, said Mr. Escudero.
That fund will return to the National Treasury at the end of the year, he said.
DepEd can also use the P10.2 billion uncommitted or unspent of the P20.4 billion allocated by Congress for the 2023 GAA through the same program, he added.
The agency also has R15.9 billion unspent under its 2024 budget for its computer program.
In a statement shared with reporters via Viber, Finance Secretary Annalyn M. Sevilla said that of the P32 billion budget for the DepEd Computerization Program from 2022 to 2024, P28.5 billion is obligated, as of November 30, 2024.
Meanwhile, a private sector group representing education reform has urged lawmakers to address the cuts facing the education sector under the proposed 2025 national budget, citing the Marcos administration’s push for workforce development.
In a statement, the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) noted that Manila has been allocating only 3.6% of its gross domestic product to the education sector as of 2022, which is way below the global level of education.
This is “far short of the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) recommendation of 4-6%,” PBEd said.
It said the budget approved by Congress for 2025 will provide DepEd and its attached agencies with an extraordinary increase of P19.42 billion compared to the P758.6 billion funding under the 2024 national budget.
“A closer look shows that this increase only translates to about P1,600 spent per student,” PBEd noted.
“We still have a long way to go in strengthening our efforts and ensuring that our students and teachers are provided with the essential resources needed to succeed,” said the statement. “Investing in education must be a priority.”
PBEd cited “the President’s directive to develop our people.”
The eight-point socio-economic agenda of the Marcos administration under the Philippine Development Plan for 2023 to 2028 includes the objective to “equip Filipinos with skills to fully participate in the new economy and compete globally.”
Amidst the problems surrounding the proposed 2025 national budget, Mr. Marcos on Monday said he will push for the reversal of DepEd’s budget cuts, especially the proposed P10-billion funding for its 2025 national computerization program.
Speaking to this reporter at the presidential palace, the Philippine leader said that the reduction is not in line with his government’s policy in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
“With this announcement to restore the budget for the education sector, we remain hopeful that his leadership will encourage the prioritization of education in the government,” said PBEd. – Aaron Michael C. Sy, Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio, Chloe Mari A. Hufana, again Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
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