DOH clarifies: PhilHealth has budget

The Department of Health (DOH) clarified on Monday that the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) still has sufficient funds to cover its members’ benefits even with no subsidy allocated for 2025.

In his speech during the flag ceremony, DOH Secretary Ted Herbosa assured the public that the state insurer “still has a lot of money.”

“So it's only right that PhilHealth can afford to pay the P80 billion subsidy of the indirect [members]. Do you understand? So, the PhilHealth budget is not lost,” Herbosa said.

“PhilHealth can still provide all the benefits of [its] members. No benefits will be lost. Only those who threaten and agitate say that PhilHealth benefits will be lost,” he stressed, countering fears about the insurer's financial stability.

Herbosa noted that PhilHealth's P284 billion budget is “almost as big as the DOH budget.”

“But we [at DOH] provide the service. Remember: health services are provided by our 87 hospitals and primary care facilities. And PhilHealth, his only job, is to pay all these hospitals,” he added.

Meanwhile, in a radio interview, DOH Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo revealed that PhilHealth P150-billion surplus from its 2024 budget.

Senate Committee on Finance Chair Senator Grace Poe’s highlighted that PhilHealth will receive no government subsidy for 2025, citing its reserve funds amounting to P600 billion.