State insurer Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) will receive almost P80 billion in subsidies allocated under the proposed P5.02-trillion 2022 national budget, according to a party-list lawmaker.
In a statement, Anakalusugan Party-list Rep Mike Defensor said next year’s PhilHealth subsidy amounting to P79,990,995,000 is P8.368 billion higher than this year’s P71.353-billion subsidy.
Defensor said increasing taxpayer subsidy would provide more insurance coverage for vulnerable sectors of the population, which is also a part of the mandate of the universal health care program.
“The money is for the insurance coverage of millions of so-called indirect contributors, including indigent citizens, the elderly, and unemployed persons with disability,” he said.
He noted that aside from its annual budgetary support, PhilHealth collects more than P100 billion from millions of workers from both the private and public sectors.
“So the state health insurer will have more than P180 billion next year for health services for its members,” he said.
PhilHealth is currently locked in a dispute with some hospitals over billions in unpaid claims.
Defensor urged the insurer and hospitals to resolve their conflict through dialogue, particularly with PhilHealth facilitating the payment of legitimate claims while guarding against questionable and fraudulent submissions.
“This has been a recurring problem. The two sides should agree on a common solution that protects the interests of honest health facilities and medical practitioners, on one hand, and taxpayers and PhilHealth members, on the other,” he said.PNA
