Health Sec. Teodoro Herbosa
MANILA, Philippines — Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa assured the public on Tuesday that the billions in excess funds of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) will still be used within the health sector.
Last April, the Department of Finance (DOF) instructed government-owned corporations to return their extra funds to the national treasury, including PhilHealth’s P89.9 billion surplus.
READ: Recto assures public: Transfer of PhilHealth’s P20B excess funds legal
“I requested from Secretary Recto to use the health funds for health purposes; that’s where the P27.4 billion for the HEA [healthcare allowance] came from,” Herbosa said.
“I’d like to reassure our medical community—the P89.9 billion, as Secretary Recto promised, is ‘health for health.’ Those were his words: ‘Health money for health’,” he added.
READ: Watchdogs question PhilHealth fund transfer
When asked why he thinks PhilHealth has excess funds, he offered three theories:
“Either of these three: my first theory is that their estimate may be too high. Number two, the senior citizens they mentioned might have passed away, so the funds are more than enough. [Third] these poor individuals who were supposed to be included in the free premium with the government paying for them might have jobs.” he said.
“In other words, the number of poor individuals might be decreasing, so there’s an overestimate every year,” he added.
Last week, public health reform advocates and budget watchdogs called on lawmakers to investigate the executive department’s decision to divert PhilHealth’s excess funds to “unprogrammed appropriations” this year.
Independent health reform advocate Dr. Tony Leachon, in particular, questioned DOF Circular No. 003-2024, which directs PhilHealth to transfer P89.9 billion in unused government subsidies to the national treasury.