The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) has more than enough funds to cover healthcare benefits for all Filipinos in 2025, even as Congress moves to amend the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act to improve financial efficiency and accessibility, the Department of Health (DOH) assured.

Health Secretary Ted Herbosa emphasized that PhilHealth’s financial position remains strong, with a P284 billion corporate operating budget for the year. 

The budget includes a 10 percent increase in benefits, with higher case rates for commonly availed packages such as Community-Acquired Pneumonia, Hypertension, and Animal Bites, he added.

“The transfer of PhilHealth funds revived the issue of Universal Health Care. For years, PhilHealth funds languished in the bank, far from and unused by ordinary Filipinos,” Herbosa said in a statement.

The DOH chief noted that the push to utilize PhilHealth’s funds gained momentum following the fund transfer, emphasizing that the corporation has a duty to provide benefits to its members.

DOH backs UHC amendments

The health department said it supports the proposed amendments to the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act, as the House of Representatives approved House Bill No. 11357 with 191 votes in favor, 3 against, and no abstentions. The measure will now be reconciled with Senate Bill No. 2620 in a Bicameral Conference Committee.

The DOH said key amendments in both the House and Senate versions of the bill, including lowering the premium contribution rate from the current 5 percent with an income ceiling, reducing the financial burden on migrant workers, and mandating a third-party auditor to review PhilHealth’s finances and benefit distribution.

As such, the agency said it supports an additional provision in HBN 11357, which revises the computation of PhilHealth’s administrative expenses, including salaries. Instead of being based on 7.5 percent of total premium collections, the cap will now be set at 7.5 percent of total benefit payments from the previous year.

Herbosa welcomed the bill’s passage, emphasizing its potential to improve healthcare access. 

“The DOH celebrates this major development in the push to enhance our Universal Health Care Act so that our people will feel health faster,” he said. 

“PhilHealth definitely has a key role in being the dominant, if not single payer, so that our families will not pay so much. We can see that the Senate and the House are keen on improving the governing law. We look forward to the Bicameral Conference Committee (Bicam).”

Previously, PhilHealth reported in House and Senate hearings that after setting aside a maximum of P280 billion for its reserve fund, it still holds an additional P150 billion in surplus. This P430 billion remains unused, even though PhilHealth transferred P60 billion in compliance with the 2024 General Appropriations Act before the Supreme Court issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on Oct. 29, 2024.