The unused and idle funds of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) should be returned to the national government since the agency failed to utilize these state subsidies, according to Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Teodoro Herbosa.
Herbosa, who also chairs the PhilHealth board as DOH chief, explained in a TV interview that the national government has the right to direct PhilHealth to return ₱89.9 billion in unused funds.
“These are not funds of PhilHealth. These are funds of the national government that PhilHealth asked for… The problem is for the past three years, these funds are in excess of what they register,” he said.
Herbosa pointed out that the funds to be remitted by PhilHealth are “not savings.”
“It’s not from the members’ contributions. This is not from their reserve funds, this is not from their investments. This is from government money that they asked for, and the government gave it and they (PhilHealth) were unable to absorb it.”
Herbosa said that even after returning the excess PhilHealth funds, the DOH could always use additional support, but that the state insurer at this point can already increase its benefits.
He noted that the health department now has the third highest budget among national government agencies, next to the Department of Education and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
“We’re next to Education and DPWH and public works and it’s now helped actually, but I can definitely use more money, and PhilHealth can definitely increase the benefits,” said the DOH chief.
The government has repeatedly reiterated that the return of PhilHealth’s excess funds will not affect the roll out of additional member benefits this year.
In previous statements, government executives stated that the number of generic drugs available for outpatient treatments like hypertension will more than double to 53 from the current 21.
In addition, PhilHealth is set to almost double the benefits for those suffering from strokes and pneumonia, offering coverage of up to ₱76,000.
A nearly 1,000 percent increase in the coverage limit for breast cancer treatments, from ₱100,000 to ₱1.4 million, has likewise been announced. By the end of the year, PhilHealth will also include chemotherapy for lung, liver, ovarian, and prostate cancers in its coverage.
