The benefits of members of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) will remain intact despite the remittance of unutilized subsidy to the Bureau of Treasury (BTr), according to Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Ralph Recto.
Recto said PhilHealth has more than P500 billion in reserve funds, enough to cover operations for the next three years. Even after remitting P89.9 billion in national government subsidy to the Treasury, PhilHealth’s financial standing remains strong, he said.
“Even if we remove the P89.9 billion, there’s still P500 billion, good for the next three years or more,” Recto said in a post-SONA forum Tuesday. “This more than P500 billion will be used for new and expanded PhilHealth benefits.”
Recto said the fund transfer was legal and approved by the PhilHealth board of directors. He said the DOF had consulted with several government agencies including the Government Commission for GOCCs (GCG), Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) and Commission on Audit (COA) to ensure the legality of the transfer.
” We asked the GCG, OGCC and COA. The response from the three government agencies was that it was all legal,” Recto said.
Amid the remittance of PhilHealth funds to the government, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced increases in PhilHealth benefits.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) Monday, said the number of generic drugs covered by outpatient benefits has been increased from 21 to 53. There are new medications for hypertension, nerve pain and epileptic seizures.
The President also announced that in response to the rising costs of medication and medical care, PhilHealth would improve benefits for members suffering from strokes and pneumonia.
“In response to the increasing incidence and rising treatment costs, PhilHealth has more than doubled the benefits for serious illnesses such as acute stroke and pneumonia. The limit for these conditions has been increased to P76,000 and P90,000,” he said.
President Marcos also announced that PhilHealth members with breast cancer could receive up to P1.4 million in medical assistance.
“And before the end of the year, chemotherapy for lung, liver, ovarian, and prostate cancer will also be included in PhilHealth benefits,” he said.
These announcements were welcomed by PhilHealth members and stakeholders, who expressed their appreciation for the government’s commitment to providing affordable and accessible healthcare for all Filipinos.
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