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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Poe: PhilHealth gets zero subsidy in 2025 budget

Poe: PhilHealth gets zero subsidy in 2025 budget

Published Dec 11, 2024 07:30 am

The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) will get zero subsidy in the P6.352-trillion 2025 national budget.

This was according to Senate Finance Committee Chair Senator Grace Poe, citing that they still have their P600 billion reserve fund.

"Nakita natin PhilHealth, yung subsidiya na ibibigay ng gobyerno na hindi man lang nila nagagamit. Ang PhilHealth ngayon, kung hindi ako nagkakamali, merong P600 billion na reserve funds. Naka-deposito lang yan sa, ewan ko kung anong account nila nilalagay, but definitely kung anong kinikita niyan, mas maliit pa sa, mas mababa pa sa inflation (We saw that PhilHealth, the subsidy provided by the government, is not being utilized at all. As far as I know, PhilHealth currently has a reserve fund of around P600 billion. That money is just sitting in, I don't know what account they have it in, but definitely the earnings from that are lower than inflation)," she said in a chance interview right after the Bicameral Conference Committee approved on Wednesday morning, December 11 the proposed P6.352-trillion 2025 General Appropriations Bill (GAB).

"So, lugi pa yung gobyerno. So, sa ngayon, ang PhilHealth ay hindi nabigyan ng budget. Sapagkat kailangan nilang gamitin muna yung kanilang reserve funds na kung nakikita ninyo, marami na nga nagagalit dahil hindi nabibigyan ng tamang reimbursement (The government is at a disadvantage. Currently, PhilHealth has not been allocated a budget because they need to use their reserve funds first. As you can see, many people are upset because they are not receiving the proper reimbursements)," she added.

Poe said that if PhilHealth has a lot funds to spare, they must use it since it's just going to waste; with it being kept. She also pointed out the decision of the Supreme Court that once the funds have been allocated, they cannot be transferred, even in cases of crisis or need in other sectors.

Poe stated, however, that while the agency was given zero subsidy they still have operating costs and the allocation that will instead be given to departments who need it more.

"So, doon sa mga sektor na talagang walang pondo, doon natin nilagay yung mga sobra naman sa iba na alam natin hindi nila kailangan (So, for those sectors that really lack funding, we allocate the excess from others that we know they don’t need)," she added.

Senators have earlier expressed their disapproval of PhilHealth's request for an additional subsidy, finding it unnecessary to grant it under their proposed budget for next year when it has yet to provide sufficient financial relief to patients.

Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, principal sponsor and author of the Universal Healthcare Act, voiced his frustration over the unspent P89-billion of PhilHealth, asking why these excess funds have not yet been used to ease the burden of healthcare costs for the public.
 

Related Tags

2025 general appropriations bill (GAB) Senator Grace Poe 2025 national budget Philippine Health Insurance Corp.
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