AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee (Rep. Lee's Facebook page)

AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee is up in arms over the removal of government subsidy for the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) in the P6.352-trillion 2025 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) recently ratified by both Houses of Representatives.

According to Lee, this will worsen the burden of direct contributors and affect the beneficiaries of the subsidy such as indigents, senior citizens, unemployed persons with disabilities (PWDs), and financially-incapable Point-of-Service patients, among others. 

“Malinaw na salungat ito sa layunin ng Universal Health Care (UHC) Law...Paano na ang mahihirap nating kababayan na tumatamasa ng benepisyo mula sa subsidiyang ito?" Lee said.

(This clearly runs against the aim of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Law...What will happen to our poor countrymen who rely on the benefits of this subsidy.)

It can be recalled that Lee also opposed the transfer of PhilHealth’s P89.9 billion excess funds to the National Treasury. 

The neophyte congressman from Sorsogon subsequently went on a tirade against the Department of Health (DOH) head honcho.

“Mahigit isang taon na natin itong ipinaglalaban. Pero kung manhid at nagbibingi-bingihan ang mismong pinuno ng DOH na si Secretary Ted Herbosa, na siya ring chairperson ng Benefits Committee at PhilHealth Board, talagang magiging usad-pagong ang mga dagdag benepisyong ipinangako nila sa Kongreso at sa taumbayan,” lamented the aspiring senator.

(We've fought for this for over a year. But if the head of the DOH itself in Secretary Ted Herbosa--also the chairperson ng Benefits Committee at PhilHealth Board--is callous and seemingly deaf, then the benefits they promised to Congress and the people will really see turtle-paced implementation.)

“Ang pondo para sa kalusugan ay dapat gamitin para sa kalusugan. Hindi ito dapat gamitin sa mga proyekto na di kasing halaga ng kalusugan ng ating mga kababayan, o sa mga proyektong wala namang mamamatay kung hindi gagawin,” the solon earlier stressed. 

(Funds allocated for healthcare should be used for healthcare. This shouldn't be used for projects that aren't as important as our countrymen health, or on projects that aren't a matter of life and death.

A staunch health advocate, Lee persistently pushed for the 30 percent increase in PhilHealth benefits which was implemented last Feb. 14. PhilHealth's benefit package for hemodialysis was also expanded from P2,600 to P6,350 per session and from 90 sessions per year to 156 sessions annually, as well as the breast cancer treatment coverage which increased from P100,000 to P1.4 million.

The Bicolano is also the first to expose in 2023 that PhilHealth had an enormous available funds amounting to P466 billion investible funds and P68.4 billion net income, stressing that these should be used to expand health benefits and lower the premium contribution.