PhilHealth on course even without gov't subsidy, says CEO

The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. is financially healthy to meet the healthcare needs of its 115 million members in 2025 even without the multi-billion-peso subsidy Congress cut from its proposed budget next year.

PhilHealth president and CEO Emmanuel Ledesma thus said before lawmakers on Tuesday days after Congress passed the proposed P6.325-trillion national budget without the P74-billion national government subsidy for PhilHealth because of its P600-billion reserve funds.

"In the face of significant hurdles, therefore—including the absence of a national government subsidy in this year’s budget, PhilHealth remains on course in its mission," Ledesma said.

"Our plans to continue expanding benefits in the coming year, in fact, remain unchanged," he added.

Ledesma said all benefits will be paid including those for our most vulnerable members: senior citizens, indigents, persons with disabilities, rebel returnees, and other marginalized sectors.

"Walang dapat ikabahala ang ating mga kababayan; sagot po kayo ng PhilHealth," Ledesma said.

(Our countrymen should not be concerned. You can count on PhilHealth.) 

Ledesma said that as of October 2024, PhilHealth has a surplus of P150 billion and a total reserve of P281 billion, complemented by an investment fund nearing P489 billion as of November 2024.

"These figures demonstrate that PhilHealth is financially robust, well-positioned to sustain operations, and fully capable of addressing the healthcare needs of our 115 million members,” Ledesma said.

"And we are steadily progressing with our objectives. In fact, we will implement another 50% increase in coverage for most of our case rates packages,” he added.

Ledesma said PhilHealth in 2024 implemented an 80% increase for almost all of the case rate packages.

He said PhilHealth also completed enhancements in seven packages for the top health conditions in terms of claims.

"These significant benefit expansions mark a substantial stride towards our commitment to providing affordable, accessible, and quality healthcare for all Filipinos," Ledesma said. 

"Never before has the Corporation implemented such extensive enhancements in a year. This is such a banner year for your PhilHealth, and we thank all of our fellow health advocates for bringing all these to fruition,” he added.

“With these enhancements, we aspire to eradicate the financial burden of healthcare costs, facilitate timely access to essential medical services, and ultimately elevate the quality of life for our valued members, the Filipino people,” Ledesma said.

Ledesma, however, said the gains were not enough.

“While we have made progress, we acknowledge that much remains to be done," Ledesma said.

"Rebuilding trust is not a one-time effort but an ongoing process. We continue to engage stakeholders—from healthcare providers to local government units—to ensure that the benefits we promise are the benefits we deliver,” he added. —NB, GMA Integrated News