PhilHealth to get zero subsidy in 2025 budget. What does this mean for Filipinos?
State medical insurer PhilHealth will receive no additional subsidy from the national government in the 2025 budget, following decisions made during the bicameral conference committee meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 11.
The Senate cited the agency's substantial unutilized P600 billion fund as the primary reason for the denial. Sen. Grace Poe, the national budget's sponsor in the Senate said the insurer should first exhaust its reserves fund.
"Naka-deposito lang yan sa... kung anong account nila nilalagay, but definitely kung anong kinikita niyan, mas maliit pa sa, mas mababa pa sa inflation. So, lugi pa yung gobyerno," the senator said.
Poe also noted that the supposed allocation will be redirected to sectors needing it most.
"Doon sa mga sektor na talagang walang pondo, doon natin nilagay yung mga sobra naman sa iba na alam natin hindi nila kailangan," she said.
"'Yung allotment na ibibigay sa kanila ngayon ay nilagay natin doon sa mga departamento na mas nangangailangan," she added.
According to Poe, PhilHealth still has sufficient funds for its operational costs, which are included in the final version of the proposed national budget bill.
Under the 2025 National Expenditure Program (NEP), proposed by the Executive Department, P74.43 billion was appropriated as subsidy for PhilHealth.
However, the Senate reduced it to P64.419 billion, and then the bicam, composed of members from the Senate and the House of Representatives, decided to remove the subsidy for PhilHealth entirely.
What does this mean for Filipinos?
Dr. Tony Leachon, former special adviser for non-communicable diseases at the Department of Health, said that the zero budget means there will be "no funding for indirect contributors (i.e senior citizens, indigents and PWDs) and the direct contributors will carry the brunt of funding PhilHealth."
"Their priority is reducing health to patronage rather than allowing people to avail of healthcare with dignity as is our right," he wrote on Facebook.
Senator Risa Hontiveros called the decision "unfair, illegal, and potentially unconstitutional' as it could impact the implementation of the Universal Healthcare Law, potentially leaving millions of Filipinos without sufficient coverage.
"Obligasyon ng gobyerno na bayaran ang premiums ng mga indirect contributors, kabilang ang mga mahihirap, senior citizens at PWDs. Kapag inabandona ito ng gobyerno, ang papasan dito ay ang mga ordinaryong mamamayan na buwan-buwan kinakaltasan ng PhilHealth," Hontiveros said in a statement.
"Paano na lang ang mga kababayang hindi makakapagbayad ng kanilang premium contribution?" she explained.
"The PhilHealth charter, the Sin Tax Law and the UHC Act mandate that portions of certain taxes go to the state health insurer. Kahit pa may 'excess o reserve funds' kuno ang PhilHealth, may mga batas na nagsasabing kailangan ito pondohan."
This also rings true for Sen. JV Ejercito, the principal author of the Universal Health Care Act.
"Meron naman silang P600 billion reserve fund but 'yun nga lang 'yung legality ang baka maquestion kasi nga nasa batas yan na its already earmarked," he said.
Meanwhile, Sen. Christopher "Bong" Go, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health, expressed his disappointment over both chambers of Congress' decision to give PhilHealth a "zero" budget.
"Dapat po ang pondo ng PhilHealth ay para sa health kaya nga po Philhealth… Papaano po magbebenefit ang mga pasyente kung zero ang budget ng Philhealth,” the senator said during Wednesday’s plenary session, Dec. 11.
He also noted his "strong reservations" regarding the denial of the state health insurer subsidy, which he said is one of the reasons he has not signed the bicam report.
“Nais ko munang siguraduhin na bawat piso ng bayan ay magagamit nang tama at ang mga programa para sa kalusugan ay sapat na mapopondohan," Go said in a separate statement.
Health advocates weigh in
In November, health advocates also criticized the reduction of PhilHealth's 2025 budget to P53.26 billion from the requested P150 billion.
According to the petitioners, PhilHealth has not been receiving its full share of tobacco and sweetened beverage taxes, as mandated by Republic Act No. 11346, which allocated 80% of 50% of the revenues for universal health care (UHC).
"PhilHealth's budget for [the fiscal year] 2025 must be at least P69.81 billion, as computed based on the excise tax collection from tobacco and sweetened beverages in 2023," said former Finance undersecretary Cielo Magno.
"This fund earmarked for PhilHealth, as a special fund, must not be used for purposes other than what was specified in the law, especially since we haven't yet accomplished nor abandoned its purpose, which is the UHC."
Congress instead prioritized Medical Assistance for Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) above funding for PhilHealth, a decision that health activists criticized as a means for lawmakers to engage in patronage politics.
"Defunding social health insurance is not the solution to PhilHealth's issues. By redirecting healthcare funds to MAIFIP or pagmamakaawa, the government just reinforces the notion of begging for healthcare from politicians. It benefits the politicians more than the patients," said Dr. Juan Antonio "Jeepy" Perez, former Executive Director of the Commission on Population.
Meanwhile, Dr. Antonio Dans, professor emeritus at the University of the Philippines Manila and an Academician at the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), opposed the special provision in the 2025 budget that avoids the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) process for procuring medical items, emphasizing that the HTA process is a fundamental component of the Universal Healthcare Act.
"It is painful to get sick. It is more painful to get sick and have no money. It is most painful to get sick, have no money, and receive the wrong medication," said Dr. Dans.
