MANILA, Philippines 鈥� President Ferdinand 鈥淏ongbong鈥� R.Marcos Jr. on Monday defended the removal of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation鈥檚 (PhilHealth) P74-billion subsidy for 2025, citing its remaining reserves.
In a chance interview, Marcos pointed out that even if the government did not grant PhilHealth鈥檚 subsidy in the 2025 budget, it would still have a reserve of P500 billion.
鈥淭he reason we do not want to subsidize [PhilHealth] because the subsidy uupo lang sa bank account ng PhilHealth, hindi magagamit, eh marami tayo pag gagamitan noon so that鈥檚 the simple explanation there,鈥� said Marcos in a chance interview with Palace reporters in Malaca帽ang.
(We do not want to subsidize [PhilHealth] because the subsidy will only sit on PhilHealth鈥檚 bank account; it will not be used, which can be used for something else, so that鈥檚 the simple explanation there.)
鈥淭hey have sufficient funds to carry on,鈥� he added.
PhilHealth was initially allocated a P74.431 billion subsidy, but was reduced by the Senate to聽 P64.419 billion.
The bicameral conference committee then decided to cut the allocation completely.
According to Marcos, the current problem with PhilHealth is not its budget nor its coverage, but its system that has been 鈥渃logged鈥� due to its limited 鈥減rocessing capacity.鈥�
鈥淪a dami ng bagong services ng PhilHealth, sa dami ng mga bagong payment na binibigay ng PhilHealth, nababara ang sistema,鈥� said Marcos.
(With the number of new services and payments PhilHealth provides, the system gets clogged.
鈥淵ou can see there are, in the provinces, merong mga tao nag aantay buong araw 鈥榶ung pila dalawang daang tao nag aantay nagc-claim. Hindi naman mahirap. Pero that鈥檚 what happened in PhilHealth. 鈥榊an ang problema sa PhilHealth. The problem is the processing capacity,鈥� he added.
(You can see in the provinces, people who wait all day, two hundred people waiting to claim. It鈥檚 not difficult. But that鈥檚 what happened in PhilHealth. That鈥檚 the problem with PhilHealth. The problem is the processing capa
He said this is why PhilHealth鈥檚 current main focus is digitization鈥攖o ensure faster processing of insurance claims while insurance coverage and claims payments continue.
Marcos clarified that he is 鈥渘ot yet at the point鈥� of vetoing line items in the bicam-approved budget for 2025.