The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) on Tuesday said it will “adjust” should President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approve the removal of its government subsidy.
President Marcos earlier said he is supporting lawmakers’ move to allocate zero subsidy to PhilHealth next year, explaining the state health insurer has remaining P500 billion in reserve funds.
Dr. Israel Francis Pargas, PhilHealth Senior Vice President for Health Finance Policy Sector, quoted by GMA News, said that they respect the decision of the bicameral conference committee and the President.
PhilHealth earlier expressed hope that President Marcos would reconsider the zero-subsidy decision.
Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Ted Herbosa, who sits as chairperson of the PhilHealth Board of Directors, said that even as PhilHealth is expected to get zero subsidy next year, it still has a P150 billion surplus from its 2024 budget that could pay for the subsidy of indirect members.
The decision to cut PhilHealth’s subsidy stems from its P600 billion reserver as disclosed by Senate Finance Committee chairperson Grace Poe.
The PhilHealth Board of Directors earlier approved a P284 billion Corporate Operating Budget (COB) for Fiscal Year 2025, which was 10% higher than the P259 billion from last year’s COB.
The board also approved the Benefits Committee (BenCom)-endorsed second round of increases in selected case rates, by as much as 50%. This is in addition to an emergency care benefit, glasses and optometric services for children, open heart surgery benefits, and pediatric cataract extractions.
The COB is PhilHealth’s version of a General Appropriations Act (GAA, for the national government) or a General Appropriations Ordinance (GAO, for local government units).
Within the 2025 COB is the amount of P271 billion programmed for benefit expenses, higher by 11% compared to FY 2024. This increase takes into account Board-approved increases in case rates, Z benefits, PhilHealth Konsulta at P1,700 and P2,100 capitation per person, and 156 hemodialysis sessions at P6,350 per session.
It also includes funds for emergency care, outpatient mental health, severe acute malnutrition, and many other standalone outpatient packages. Despite the increase in the budget for benefits, the Board approved an increase of only 3 percent for administrative expenses, from P12.1 billion in FY 2024 to P12.5 billion in FY 2025.
