As he welcomed the temporary restraining order (TRO) on the further transfer of the remaining P29.9 billion out of the P89.9 billion total excess funds of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to the national treasury, Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito emphasized that the agency is crucial to the “successful implementation” of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act. 

In a press briefing on Wednesday, Ejercito believes that PhilHealth’s supposed excess funds can still be utilized for the UHC programs. 

“But for me, it's in the law that the funds should be used solely for the benefit of the members, which is—all Filipinos are now considered members. So benefiting members should be prioritized to cover the expenses and the medical needs of the people.

However, he acknowledged that the Department of Finance (DoF) may tap excess funds of government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) and other agencies for other priority programs.

“So we cannot blame the DoF because their priority programs, they would like to access to fund—which is being parked—for the priority measures,” he noted. 

PhilHealth’s fault

Ejercito said PhilHealth should be held liable regarding the issue. 

“Why would they declare an excess fund of P89.9 billion? While people are still struggling to pay the medical expenses, there are still hospitals that haven't been paid,” he said. 

Ejercito noted that once the proposed amendment in the UHC is passed, they will be able to adjust the PhilHealth premium to a lower rate so that the country can recover from the previous impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“But not until that is passed; the least that PhilHealth can do is to cover all Filipinos,” he said.

“As the sponsored author of the Universal Healthcare Act, we are already entering the fifth year of implementation of the UHC. It's a 10-year program. It's a work in progress. But by this time, it should already be felt by most of the Filipinos,” he added. 

Ejercito lamented that the fifth-year implementation of the UHC Act must have been felt publicly. 

“The intent of the law is to give access to good quality healthcare for all Filipinos without the financial burden. We have to lower the out-of-pocket expenses. So why would you declare excess funds when there are still many Filipinos who are struggling to pay their medical expenses?” he said. 

Ejercito then called on his counterparts in the House of Representatives to prioritize the UHC amendments, which would push further the adjustments of the premium rates as well as the reiteration that PhilHealth's funds “should only be used for PhilHealth and health purposes.”

He also mentioned several complaints about the PhilHealth coverages. 

“Ang nakakalungkot dito at selling na receive so many information, mga complaints na halimbawa P500,000 inabot yung medical bills. Ang sasagutin nila ng PhilHealth: P12,000, P15,000. Parang hindi mo naramdaman. Kung sinagot man lang 30 percent, 40 percent or even 50 percent, alaking bagay sana nun.  Meron pa ako nakita billing Php100,000, sinagot P8,000. Ba’t naman ganun? ,” he said. 

Not a private corporation

Ejercito reminded the PhilHealth leadership that they are not running a private corporation that needs to have a profit and acquire larger savings annually. 

“We are a government agency, a service agency, aside from a health insurance agency. We need to fully use that for the benefit of the members, so why will you declare a P89 billion excess fund when there are people who are still struggling to pay the hospital bills?,” he said. 

The senator pointed out that PhilHealth shouldn’t be proud of having excess funds. 

“Again, you are not a private corporation. As a government, you should utilize that for your services. Hanggat meron pang nahihirapan magbayad ng hospital bills; we are not successful yet,” he lamented. 

“The only time that you can, siguro pag bibigyan natin, mag-declare sila na excess funds. Pag lahat, satisfied na hindi nahihirapan,” he added. 

Meanwhile, Ejercito said the transfer of PhilHealth’s P89-billion excess fund will be included in the plenary debates during the Senate deliberation of the Department of Health’s 2025 proposed budget. 

He said the issue will be scrutinized during plenary debates starting Wednesday next week. 

Ejercito is questioning the need for PhilHealth to request a government subsidy despite declaring excess funds for the year. 

“PhilHealth has to answer all of this. Why are they asking for a subsidy? Then they will declare an excess fund. I think the Senate or we will be willing to give subsidy as long as kailangan talaga (if they really needed it),” he added. 

He stressed the significant responsibility of  PhilHealth being the primary agency tasked to implement the UHC.