THE government will resume granting subsidies to Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) in the amount of P53.26 billion next year, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said.
In a recent press chat, Recto said the government will restore PhilHealth’s funding benefits with the increase of the Department of Health (DOH) budget under the proposed P6.27 trillion 2026 national expenditure program.
The health insurer had zero subsidy this year because the Department of Finance (DOF) had determined that it had adequate resources and mostly unutilized financial reserves.
Amid public uproar, Congress cut PhilHealth subsidy for 2025 after the DOF took back unused subsidies worth P90 billion last year. Recto said at the time that those resources would be redirected to other economic sectors that needed additional financing.
With the 2026 subsidy, Recto said there will be no additional contributions by members. The premium contribution rate is capped at 5 percent of members’ basic salary or declared income.
“There’s so much money with PhilHealth,” he said, adding that healthcare is a priority of the Marcos administration.
Meanwhile, DOF Undersecretary Alu Dorotan-Tiuseco said PhilHealth’s ending fund balance for this
year is expected at about P348 billion.
“That’s already a 30 percent increase in benefit packages,” Recto said.
The DOF head, however, even when the subsidies are restored, the real issue is the limited number of hospitals and other healthcare facilities in the country, especially outside of the National Capital Region.
“But definitely, we will improve the services of all DOH-run hospitals within the year and next year,” Recto said.
Last year, the government argued that PhilHealth has so much money, it could do with less or no subsidy at all.
The DOF had said that the health insurer had P280 billion in reserve funds, P150 billion surplus and more than P400 billion in investment.
The DOF said it closely monitored PhilHealth’s budget, expenditures and resources this year to make sure it is operating efficiently.
