ON the heels of claims that its annual benefits budget will run out by November, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) yesterday said it has adequate funds to finance the benefits of members.
In a statement, PhilHealth President and Chief Executive Officer (PCEO) Edwin Mercado said there are sufficient funds for the expansion of member benefits and the agency’s budget will not run out by November.
“We are working hard to expand benefits using appropriate data and actuarial projections,” said Mercado.
“We are able to do this because we have sufficient funding from Congress and contributions from our countrymen from previous years,” he added.
PhilHealth issued the statement in the wake of claims by former Commission on Population and Development Executive Director Jeepy Perez that PhilHealth’s annual benefits budget will run out by November.
Perez claimed that PhilHealth has been paying out an average of P25.4 billion a month so far this year, while its income in the first six months stood only at P100 billion.
Nevertheless, PhilHealth said it will need sufficient funding in the coming years to ensure that the Universal Health Care (UHC) program will be sustained.
Mercado said they will need financial support from PhilHealth members as well as Congress.
“We need to ensure that our health system has the capacity to provide the services included in the expanded packages. We can do this by allocating sufficient funds for UHC,” he said.
“That is why we are grateful for the support of Congress and every Filipino. We will make sure that you feel every peso you contribute,” added Mercado.
