Oriental Mindoro 1st District Rep. Arnan Panaligan called on the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to use the agency’s reserved funds for the improvement of healthcare for Filipinos, especially those in the poverty threshold.
In a briefing by the Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability on Tuesday, lawmakers looked into whether the agency’s zero-subsidy budget will have any conflicts with its services. The agency was questioned on the huge amount of surplus and reserved funds it had, considering the nation’s need for urgent and accessible healthcare services.
Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel questioned why PhilHealth prioritized investment rather than healthcare in the previous years, adding that healthcare should be its top priority.
PhilHealth President and CEO Emmanuel Ledesma enumerated the three main reasons the agency’s funds accumulated through the years. According to Ledesma, it has been 12 years since the case packages were enhanced, adding that they were not spent for the same years.
During the pandemic, people were prohibited from going outside. Ledesma noted how people also feared going outside their houses, going to the hospital, and meeting with their doctors. Due to this, only a handful of individuals were going to the hospitals for treatment. This was also the reason why the money was accumulated.
Additionally, Ledesma said that they had to implement the increase in premium contribution, as it is set by law.
“Kahit hindi namin kailangan yung pera, tumataas pa rin yung binabayad sa amin ng mga tao. Those three are the main reasons why PhilHealth suddenly accumulated a huge amount of money,” Ledesma stated.
PhilHealth has several sources of funds coming from various groups like the government and the premium contributions from its members.
“Malinaw naman na maraming sources ang PhilHealth ng kanilang pondo. Hindi lang yung subsidy ng national government that is appropriated in the general appropriations act. Malaki ang kanilang share from syntaxes, from PCSO, and other sources from PAGCOR,” Panaligan said.
Although the agency was not given any additional budget, Ledesma assured that it wouldn’t affect the members’ benefit payments. The agency is also pushing for a 50% increase in the members’ case rate coverage for next year.
However, Panaligan stressed how urgent the increase is, as the beneficiaries badly need it.
“Hindi na siguro kailangang sabihin na wait for a little more patience, kailangang-kailangan na kasi ito. You made that promise, tanda ko, noong budget hearing ng DOH and PhilHealth, way back in August presided over Senior Vice Chair Stella Quimbo,” he stressed.
“December na ngayon, hanggang kailan kayo maghihintay? Sana ma-formalize na ‘yan. And I remember sa plenary session ng budget, inabot kami ng three in the morning dahil nga sa issue na ‘yan. We were really extracting commitments from PhilHealth na mapagtibay itong expansion ng coverage and increase in the benefit payments,” he added.
“Please do not tell us to be patient anymore. Hindi namin pwedeng ipaliwanag ‘yan sa taumbayan, so talagang aasahan namin ito Mr. Ledesma,” he continued.
The lawmaker also emphasized how zero subsidy does not automatically mean that PhilHealth has zero budget. Despite financial management being important, the panel said that they are expecting a stronger sense of compassion from the agency.
“More than competence in financial management, we also expect from them, from PhilHealth yung sense of compassion sa taumbayan, lalo sa mga mahihirap. Kasi healthcare ang pinag-uusapan dito,” Panaligan said.
“Kung meron man isang problema ang mga Pilipino—yung mga mahihirap—ay ‘yun yung healthcare expenses nila. Next to food expenses, [ay] yung health expenses. Kaya talagang PhilHealth ang ating inaasahan na sasalo sa ating mga mahihirap na kababayan,” he added.
The lawmaker called on PhilHealth to improve its programs when it comes to providing additional benefits for its members. Next to food expenses, the main problem that Filipinos face involves healthcare expenses.
