President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assured the public and PhilHealth members on Thursday that the services provided by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) will remain unaffected, despite the 'zero subsidy' allocated to the agency in the 2025 budget.
“I would like to just assure everybody, huwag niyong inaalala na mababawasan ang serbisyo kahit na kanino. Para sa senior, para sa mga mahirap, para sa middle class, walang mababawasan kahit isang kusing,” Marcos said.
Marcos further vowed that the government would exhaust all measures to expand the services provided by PhilHealth and increase the payments for insurance claims.
The bicameral conference committee earlier denied PhilHealth's proposed PhP74 billion budget for 2025, noting the P600 billion in unspent funds the state insurer currently holds.
However, PhilHealth assured its members that the benefits they offer will continue despite the committee's decision.
On Wednesday, the bicameral conference committee finalized and approved House Bill No. 10800, setting forth the proposed PHP6.352 trillion national budget for 2025.
Meanwhile, the signing of the General Appropriations Act, originally scheduled for December 20, was postponed to allow for a thorough examination due to significant changes in the budget requests of various agencies.
The President assured that although a specific signing date has not been determined, the budget will be signed before the year ends.
