PhilHealth board cuts anniversary expenses

THE board of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), led by Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa, has vetoed the proposal for the marketing and promotional collateral expenses of the state health insurer’s 30th anniversary celebration next year.

The collaterals, which totaled P37.5 million, include umbrellas worth P7.9 million, perforated mesh stickers worth P7.3 million, tote bags worth P1.82 million, anniversary shirts worth P3.64 million, marketing shirts worth P1.94 million, jackets worth P13.65 million, katsa bags worth P750,000 and button pins worth P545,000.

In a statement, the Department of Health said the board of directors has decided to cancel the proposed procurement of the collaterals to save government funds and ensure their proper allocation for the benefits of PhilHealth members.

DOH secretary Teodoro Herbosa. PHOTO BY J. GERARD SEGUIA 

“The PhilHealth board of directors reviews and decides on proposals coming from the PhilHealth management, such as the marketing and promotional expenses for the official events of the corporation. The board will always prioritize the benefits of PhilHealth members,” Herbosa said.

Herbosa also denied assertions that the state insurer would go bankrupt with the cut in the agency’s budget for next year.

In a year-end press briefing on Tuesday, Herbosa said that under Republic Act 7875, which created the state health insurer, the government guarantees the funding of PhilHealth under section 58 of the law.

 

 

 

Militant workers denounce the zero budget given to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. by the bicameral conference committee in the 2025 national budget during a rally in Manila on Dec. 18, 2024. The group urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to veto the ratified version and to restore the Philhealth subsidy. They also called on the resignation of PhilHealth and Department of Health (DOH) officials. PHOTO BY RENE H. DILAN 

“Did you know PhilHealth has a sovereign guarantee? Under the law, there is a section that says that the state will not allow [PhilHealth] to go under. There is no such thing as actuarial life,” Herbosa said.

Herbosa said every year, all employees contribute to PhilHealth, which leads to contributions to the National Health Insurance Program.

“How can it go zero when every year you contribute through your salary? It will only go bankrupt if I increase the benefit as opposed to the actual money that I have,” Herbosa said in Filipino.

He added that the state health insurer is now shifting its focus from hospitalization to primary health care through its Konsulta program.

On Monday, the PhilHealth board approved a P284 billion corporate operating budget for 2025 despite a cut in its subsidy in the 2025 General Appropriations Act.

The 2025 corporate budget is 10 percent higher than the previous year’s P259 billion corporate budget this year.

Meanwhile, Tingog party-list Rep. Jude Acidre has criticized the Duterte administration for failing to adjust case rates of PhilHealth for six consecutive years, describing it as a major factor behind the agency’s inefficiencies.

“This failure to adjust the case rates periodically as per policy — and if you count it, there should have been at least three adjustments over the past 12 years — has exacerbated PhilHealth’s inefficiencies. Members are frustrated because the premiums they pay do not reflect the benefits they receive,” Acidre said during the hearing of the House blue ribbon committee on Tuesday.