Despite budget allocation problems, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assured that services provided by the state health insurer PhilHealth will remain unaffected.
During the budget deliberations, PhilHealth was reprimanded by lawmakers over its failure to use its excess funds, which had grown to P600 billion over the years.
As a result, Congress did not allocate any funds or subsidy to PhilHealth.
According to Marcos, PhilHealth has more than enough to cover insurance claims, as well as offer more services. He pointed out that even without budget allocations or contributions, PhilHealth will function properly.
“This is my guarantee. My guarantee is very simple. Even if there is no subsidy, even if there is no contribution, no matter what the situation is, PhilHealth’s services will not be reduced. PhilHealth’s insurance claims will remain the same, they will not be reduced,” he said in an interview with Palace reporters.
“In fact, the opposite will happen. We will increase the services provided by PhilHealth. We will increase them, and we will increase the payments of insurance claims. So, I would just like to assure everybody: don’t worry that the services will be reduced for anyone, whether they are senior citizens, the poor, or the middle class. Nothing will be reduced, not even one bit,” he said.
Marcos also boasted that in 2025, PhilHealth will expand its offerings.
On Wednesday, House Speaker Martin Romualdez floated the idea of suspending contributions of PhilHealth members for one year due to actions committed by the health insurer. Romualdez urged House members to review whether the agency could handle the suspension on top of its zero-budget allocation.
Sought for a response, Marcos said it was only an idea. However, he did not express support or disagreement with the proposal. He also urged the public, especially those on social media, to dive deeper into the PhilHealth issue and try to understand it more.
Whether or not this issue is related to the 2025 budget proposal, the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) is under review in the Office of the President. Marcos earlier said that they will review the budget “line by line” to ensure that funds will be spent wisely.
The Chief Executive is hoping to sign the GAB before the end of the year, or by 31 December.