Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD) strongly opposes the Marcos Jr government’s transfer of P89.9 billion excess funds of Philippine Health insurance Corporation to finance unprogrammed plans, activities and programs including the Maharlika Investment Fund.
This “raid” of Philhealth funds is unreasonable and unjust, especially as the people are suffering from expensive, inaccessible health services and worsening health crisis.
On April 24, 2024, The Department of Finance (DOF) instructed PhilHealth, one of the Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs) with excess funds, to remit P89.9 billion of excess funds to the National Treasury based on DOF Department Circular 003-2024 and 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA). Criticized as another “pork barrel”, the P731.45 billion unprogrammed fund in the 2024 GAA is the subject of a case filed in the Supreme Court by several lawmakers.
Instead of “raiding” the Philhealth coffers, the government should investigate why Philhealth is having so much surplus while the people are burdened by high out of pocket health expenses. Household out of pocket health expenditures comprise almost half or 44.7% of total health expenditures in 2022.[1] The average cost of the total hospital bill for those confined in 2022 was P46,640.[2] This amount is more than three time the national minimum wage of only P610/day in NCR or P13,420/month.
Based on various reports, Philhealth’s premium payments collection rose 62% from 2018 to 2022. Its 2022 net income stood at P76 billion. PhilHealth’s reserve fund by 2023 stood at P463.7 billion. PhilHealth expects roughly P17 billion increase from the 5% contribution hike implemented in January 2024..
The P89.9 billion being siphoned off by DOF represents the cumulative unutilized national government subsidy for the indirect contributors.
Despite the long record of corruption and anomalies, Philhealth was allotted so much public funds by the government, even more than it allots for public hospitals and facilities. In 2023, the Philhealth budget allotment of P100 billion was higher than the P65.5 billion total budget allotment for all DOH public hospitals and facilities in Metro Manila and regions. As a result of measly hospital allotment, public hospitals are charging fee for services, putting more financial burden on patients.
Philhealth is being “raided” by regimes and corrupt officials since its establishment in 1995. Philhealth has become a milking cow for the corrupt with its billions of pesos in funds. In 2023, there was even a move to put Philhealth directly under the control of the Office of the President. Almost yearly Philhealth figures in irregularities and anomalies. Inefficiencies abound, including data leaks and ransom attacks, delayed benefit payments and reimbursements, even if Philhealth has so much funds.
Unprogrammed fund in the GAA has no assured allotment. Financing the P27 billion worth of COVID-19 benefits for the frontline health workers from unprogrammed funds only betrays the government’s callousness and insincerity in addressing health workers welfare. It does not in any way justify the use of Philhealth excess funds to finance unprogrammed “priority”, pork-barrel like programs of the government.
HEAD demands that public funds be directly allotted to public hospitals and public health facilities, instead of putting the funds in corruption-ridden Philhealth. This will do away with the bureaucratic and administrative costs, and remove the tempting billions of centralized funds in Philhealth that are repeatedly corrupted and raided. All those involved in Philhealth anomalies should be held accountable. Adequate funding should be allotted to public health programs, regular jobs for health workers, and improving the state-funded public health care system. #
