Members of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) can breathe a sigh of relief as there will be no increase in monthly contributions, even in the absence of government subsidies for the state-run health insurer next year.

Senate Deputy Majority Leader JV Ejercito made this assurance on Sunday, debunking information circulating on social media after Congress decided not to allocate funds for PhilHealth in the 2025 national budget.

“No, not at all. PhilHealth is financially sound. However, they are not utilizing their funds properly,” Ejercito said in an interview when asked about the issue.

Ejercito, principal sponsor and author of Republic Act 11223, or the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act, admitted he was surprised by the bicameral conference committee’s decision not to allocate subsidies for PhilHealth.

“I was surprised too, but the rationale is that PhilHealth should be compelled to use its funds for its beneficiaries,” he explained.

Last Wednesday, Congress opted not to include subsidies for PhilHealth in the approved 2025 General Appropriations Bill, citing the agency’s failure to utilize its funds effectively, despite holding reserve funds of at least P600 billion.

Initially, PhilHealth was set to receive a P74 billion subsidy under the 2025 National Expenditure Program to cover the contributions of non-paying members.

“I will call for an oversight committee hearing on the implementation of the UHC because it’s almost five years now. Let’s see where it fell short and where mistakes were made so we can fix this,” he said.

“Our goal is for everyone who gets hospitalized, everyone who needs it, to at least feel its impact. PhilHealth has really fallen short in fulfilling its role in the implementation of the UHC,” he added.

Ejercito emphasized the importance of proposed amendments to the UHC Act, which the Senate approved on third and final reading in August.

If signed into law, the amendments would lower the monthly contributions of PhilHealth members while improving benefits.

“In fact, my amendment to the Universal Health Care Act proposes reducing the contribution rate from 5 percent to 3.25 percent in the Senate version. It may end up at 4 percent. Hopefully, it will be passed soon,” Ejercito noted.

“That is our target — to lower the monthly contributions but increase the benefits. More importantly, PhilHealth should cover a larger portion of hospital bills,” he added.