Bicam asked: Restore budget of PhilHealth

PhilHealth customer assistance notice at the Rizal Medical Center in Pasig City. —Inquirer photo/Lyn Rillon

MANILA, Philippines — Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III, along with doctors and other health advocates, on Tuesday urged Congress, particularly members of the bicameral conference committee on the 2025 national budget, to restore the budget of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to allow it to provide full premium coverage for indirect contributors based on the correct rate.

READ: PhilHealth budget under scrutiny

Pimentel’s group earlier asked the Supreme Court to stop the transfer of P89.9 billion in unused PhilHealth subsidies to the national treasury so these could be used for other government projects, calling it illegal and unconstitutional.

For Fiscal Year 2025, PhilHealth requested a budget of P150.92 billion to cover the premiums of 25.28 million indirect contributors. But this has been radically reduced in the National Expenditure Program to P53.13 billion.

“The significant defunding of the PhilHealth budget, which also occurred in the FY 2024 national budget, adversely impacts the benefits to be provided for all the members,” the group said.