Recto prefers better PhilHealth benefits over contribution cut

Finance Secretary Ralph Recto on Wednesday said he prefers improvement on benefits packages to reduce the out-of-pocket medical expenses of Filipinos amid calls to reduce members’ contributions to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) following its remittance of unused government subsidies back to state coffers.

“Payag ba akong bawasan ‘yan [contribution]? Ang unang sagot ko diyan, I would prefer… better benefit packages, para makatulong sa ating mga kababayan na mabawasan ‘yung out-of-pocket expenses ng mga nagkakasakit,” Recto said at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum.

(Am I in favor of reducing it? My answer is that I would prefer… better benefit packages, to help our fellow Filipinos ease their out-of-pocket expenses for their illnesses.)

PhilHealth president and CEO Emmanuel Rufino Ledesma had said that the state insurer would recommend to President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. the reduction of members' contributions to the fund.

Recto said the decision to reduce the premium rate should be left with PhilHealth management if they deem they have enough funds to support their initiatives.

However, he said that it would be better if reducing the members’ contribution rate to PhilHealth would be done through legislation.

“Mas safe kung batas ang gagawa. There is a [provision] in the Universal Health Care Law na pwede [bawasan] pero hindi maliwanag kung paano so mas mabuti na ang Kongreso,” Recto said.

(It would be safer if it is done through legislation. There is a provision in the Universal Health Care Law that allows it but it is not clear how to do it so it’s better to be done by Congress.)

“But again, number one I would prefer to reduce the out-of-pocket expenses,” the Finance chief said.

Recto reiterated the diversion of billions of pesos in excess funds of government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) — specifically the PhilHealth’s P89.9 billion — to fund unprogrammed appropriations this year has legal basis.

The Finance chief said the DOF was acting on orders of Congress, and it consulted the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG), the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC), and the Commission on Audit (COA) which all said such moves were in line with the law.

He also said that contributions of members of PhilHealth would remain intact and be unaffected by the state insurer’s remittance of its unutilized government subsidies back to the Bureau of the Treasury.

Recto said PhilHealth has P500 billion worth of reserve funds.

The DOF chief said PhilHealth’s unused government subsidies “are not part of its reserve funds, nor income that is being restricted by the Universal Health Care Act to be used by the national government as a general fund.” —RF, GMA Integrated News