Lawmakers want PhilHealth premium hike suspended as P90B funds returned to gov’t

At least two lawmakers on Wednesday called on the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to suspend the scheduled increase in premium contributions and enhance their benefit packages amid the state insurer's return of almost P90 billion excess funds to the national treasury.

In an interview, Senator JV Ejercito, author of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act, prodded the state-insurance firm to suspend the hike in its members' premium contributions before the return of the excess funds to the national government and until the amendments to the law are approved.

Ejercito filed a bill amending the UHC Law to adjust the schedule of premium contribution hike to "adapt to the situation" and give more window for recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Unahin muna nating ibaba 'yung premium. Second, itaas natin ang benefit packages. When all of these are settled, lahat po yon nagampanan po ng PhilHealth under the UHC, then that's the only time na pwede tayo magsabi na may excess fund, kasi ito di pa eh," Ejercito said.

(First, let's lower the premium. Second, we raise the benefit packages. When all of these are settled by PhilHealth under the UHC, then that's the only time we can say there are excess funds.)

"Sinabi nila may P500 billion na excess fund. Kaya naman pala... While ongoing ang deliberations sa amendments sa UHC... para makatulong din sa iba, maganda kung sususpendihin muna 'yung increase. Ibalik muna sa 4% para kapag naipasa natin ang batas by 2025 at least 4% na uli [the increase in premium contribution]," he said.

(They say there are P500 billion in excess funds. While the deliberations are ongoing, it would be helpful to suspend the increase for now. Let's bring it back to 4% so that when we pass the law by 2025 at least the rate will be 4%.)

According to Ejercito, the bill is currently under the period of interpellations and he eyes its passage before the start of budget deliberations.

Albay Representative Joey Salceda also raised the need to increase PhilHealth's benefit packages even with the return of excess funds to the national treasury.

"Why don’t we just increase the benefits package? Even with the proposed withdrawal of excess funds by the National Government, the DOF estimates that Philhealth still has around 500 billion in excess funds," he said.

According to Salceda's estimates, P1.8 trillion is needed in funds to fully finance "catastrophic health needs, especially for senior citizens."

"Assuming a fund life of three years, the excess funds can already finance around 10 percent of catastrophic health care needs," he said.

"I will request that PhilHealth submits a plan to spend its excess funds on better packages and accelerate paying its overdue payables," he added.

At a Senate hearing on Tuesday, it was disclosed that Philhealth still has P500 billion in its chest funds.

"It doesn't mean na dahil nawala 'yung P90 billion, mawawalan ng pera ang PhilHealth po. So may natitira pong P500 billion,"  PhilHealth President and CEO Emmanuel Rufino Ledesma said.

(Returning the P90 billion doesn't mean that PhilHealth will lose its funds. There's still P500 billion left.)

Finance Secretary Ralph Recto explained that the move to sweep the idle funds in government-owned and controlled corporations is in accordance to Congress’ order under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2024.

He likewise said that it was done upon consultation with the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) and sought the legal opinions of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) and the Commission on Audit (COA).

According to Recto, the DOF was advised that PhilHealth's P89.9-billion unutilized 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. — BM, GMA Integrated News