Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) can provide expanded benefits to its members with its P61.18-billion net income and P70-billion government subsidy next year.

In a statement issued by the Department of Finance (DoF) on Monday, Recto said the cited amounts were “more than enough” for the state health insurer to increase multiple patient benefits by at least 30 percent.

Currently, he said PhilHealth keeps P500 billion as a reserve fund, which can cover expanded benefits over two to three years.

The DoF statement came amid criticism by medical and consumer groups and economists over PhilHealth’s gradual transfer of P89.9 billion to the national government to finance nutrition, education, agriculture, social development and infrastructure projects.

PhilHealth had already remitted P20 billion to pay the health emergency allowances of health workers and frontliners during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Economics professor Cielo Magno, a former DoF undersecretary, said in a television interview that Recto should “not blur” the lines on expenditures for public health emergencies such as Covid-19 and for the people’s health through PhilHealth.

She said the Universal Health Care Act requires that funds allocated to PhilHealth should only be used to either expand its services or lower its premiums.

“There’s nothing there that says the government, the executive branch, can take away the money of PhilHealth to finance other government projects,” Magno said.

“That’s why I’m saying that this is a huge fiscal management issue,” she added.

Recto argued that the transfer of unused funds from PhilHealth is legal, saying it is authorized under the General Appropriations Act of 2024 to fund other projects under Unprogrammed Appropriations.