By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — A coalition of healthcare professionals and civil society organizations has urged the national government to stop reallocating funds intended for the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), warning that reduced government support—not the benefits provided to indigent members—is at the heart of the country’s healthcare financing problems.
The appeal followed remarks by Executive Secretary Ralph Recto suggesting that Filipinos who regularly contribute to PhilHealth should receive larger benefit packages than members whose premiums are subsidized by the government.
Speaking during a press briefing on Thursday, Tony Dans, convenor of the Healthcare Professionals Alliance Against COVID-19, argued that creating separate benefit levels would undermine the principle of universal healthcare by dividing members instead of addressing the real shortcomings in government financing.
According to Dans, the issue is not that indigent Filipinos receive excessive assistance, but that the government has failed to provide PhilHealth with the level of financial support required under existing law.
More than 70 healthcare organizations echoed this position in an open letter addressed to Recto, asserting that the frustration expressed by many paying contributors stems from inadequate government funding rather than the benefits extended to financially disadvantaged members.
The coalition maintained that introducing different benefit packages would only divert attention from what it described as the government’s obligation under the Universal Health Care Act to adequately finance health insurance coverage for indigent Filipinos.
The groups further argued that universal healthcare is founded on equitable access to medical services, ensuring that all Filipinos receive essential healthcare without suffering financial hardship, particularly those who cannot afford treatment.
Dans also pointed to declining revenues from taxes on tobacco and sugar-sweetened beverages that are earmarked for PhilHealth. He noted that allocations from these so-called “sin taxes” have steadily decreased over the past several years, leaving the state insurer with resources that fall short of what is needed to finance the premiums of government-subsidized members.
He claimed that the funding gap has been aggravated by the diversion of revenues originally intended for PhilHealth to other government expenditures, resulting in lower budget releases than what had been appropriated.
Healthcare advocates cautioned that granting enhanced benefits exclusively to paying contributors could unintentionally reduce available resources for vulnerable sectors that depend heavily on PhilHealth assistance, as all benefits are drawn from the same insurance fund.
Instead of establishing a two-tier benefit system, the coalition urged the government to fully release the funds legally allocated to PhilHealth and ensure that any future increase in benefits would be extended equally to all members.
The organizations have yet to formally transmit their open letter to the Executive Secretary, but they expressed hope that the ongoing debate would encourage the government to strengthen PhilHealth’s financial capacity and uphold the objectives of universal health care for every Filipino.
ia/xf
