DBM allots P101.51B for nat’l health insurance program next year

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has allocated over a hundred billion pesos under the proposed P5.768-trillion 2024 budget for the National Health Insurance Program of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).

In a news release on Friday, the DBM said P101.51 billion allocation for the PhilHealth program was P1.28 billion higher than the current year’s allocation.

The Universal Health Care (UHC) Law or Republic Act No. 11223 mandates PhilHealth to provide health insurance coverage and ensure affordable, acceptable, available, and accessible health care services for all Filipinos.

The increased budget for the National Health Insurance Program was made to “accommodate an expanded pool of beneficiaries and to double the annual premium rate for persons-with-disability (PWDs) from P2,400 to P5,000.”

The Budget Department said the proposed budget for the program would benefit approximately 12.75 million indigent members as identified by the National Household Targeting System under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The program is also seen to aid about 8.26 million senior citizens, over 15,000 financially handicapped point-of-service patients, 136,000 unemployed persons with disabilities, and 25,512 individuals as identified in the Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) Peace and Development Program.

“Given the lessons from the pandemic, the Fiscal Year 2024 proposed budget will continue to strengthen primary healthcare facilities in the country, including medical assistance amounting to P22.26 billion to 1.31 million indigent and financially incapacitated patients who are unable to afford nor access quality healthcare services,” said Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman.

The DBM said the proposed 2024 budget reflects the government's commitment to fortifying health care for marginalized and disadvantaged communities, leveraging insights from the pandemic to bolster primary care units across the country.—AOL. GMA Integrated News