By Clarist Mae Zablan
(December 12, 2024) – Senators were divided on a decision to slash the proposed subsidies for the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to zero in 2025 after both chambers of Congress ratified the national budget for next year.
The national government originally requested P74 billion in subsidies for the state health insurer but the bicameral conference committee scrapped it over its P600-billion reserve funds, Sen. Grace Poe, the chairperson of the Senate Finance Committee, said in an interview with reporters on Wednesday.
Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero stressed that legislators will not “reward” PhilHealth over their “failure” regarding the excess funds.
“Dahil sa kapalpakang ‘yun, ito sana, magsilbing wake-up call sa kanila, hindi man palo sa mukha, na gawin nila ang trabaho nila,” he said. “Hindi para sa amin na i-reward ang kapalpakan nila sa pagbibigay na naman ng perang itetengga.”
But Sen. Bong Go, the chairperson of the Senate Health Committee, expressed “strong reservations” on the removal of the PhilHealth subsidy, stressing that “subsidy from the national government may still be needed to implement necessary reforms and improvements in its benefit packages.”
For her part, Sen. Risa Hontiveros also believed that the lack of subsidy is “unfair, illegal, and potentially unconstitutional.”
“Denying PhilHealth support to pay the premium contribution of the most vulnerable is to deny Filipinos our right to health… Kapag inabandona ito ng gobyerno, ang papasan dito ay ang mga ordinaryong mamamayan na buwan-buwan kinakaltasan ng PhilHealth,” she said in a statement.
The Senate ratified the proposed 2025 national budget on Wednesday night. The minority senators — Hontiverors and Minority Leader Koko Pimentel — voted against the budget bill.
(With reports from Maeanne Los Baños-Oroceo, News5)
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