Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) manually process their members’ transactions at PhilHealth National Capital Region Central Branch in Quezon City on September 28. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

PHILHEALTH

Benise Balaoing

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA -- <span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(51, 51, 51);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none">One of the biggest business groups in the country is urging PhilHealth to give its members more benefits and stop asking for more contributions while it has unused funds.</span></p><div><span id="isPasted">In a statement, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said PhilHealth&#x27;s assistance to its members is &quot;severely deficient&quot; despite having substantial reserve funds.</span></div><p>“Despite posting surplus funds, the agency’s health insurance coverage is still at the bare minimum; members continue to disproportionately shoulder the burden of their hospital and healthcare expenses,” said PCCI President Enunina Mangio.</p><p>The executive said the state insurer must give its members more benefits in the form of more benefits like hospitalization and covering more illnesses.</p><p>The group also called on the national government to suspend the remaining 1 percent increase in members’ contributions.</p><p>“PhilHealth has shown its solvency. It does not need another rate hike to sustain its operations and services to its members, it needs efficient management of its funds,” Mangio said.</p><p>Instead, the PCCI said PhilHealth needs to be more transparent in how its funds are used through regular performance audits and consider reorganizing its leadership.</p><p>The <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/7/23/recto-defends-transfer-of-nearly-p90-billion-in-idle-philhealth-funds-1652" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Department of Finance (DOF)</a> has defended its circular directing PhilHealth to remit <span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none">P89.9 billion in unused subsidies back to the national treasury so that these can be utilized in financing unprogrammed appropriations.</span></p><p>Finance Secretary Ralph Recto has noted that PhilHealth can still end 2024 with <span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none">about </span><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/8/14/recto-philhealth-to-end-2024-with-p546-billion-despite-fund-transfer-1300" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a><span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/8/14/recto-philhealth-to-end-2024-with-p546-billion-despite-fund-transfer-1300" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">P546 billion</a></span><span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none"> in funds even if it transferred money for other government expenses.</span></p><p>The state health insurer has also said that the funds it will be remitting to the state treasury do not include contributions of paying members.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/7/16/philhealth-says-fund-transfer-excluded-contributions-of-paying-members-1454" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">PhilHealth says fund transfer excluded contributions of paying members</a></div><p>Health workers have launched a <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/8/29/signature-drive-launched-vs-philhealth-fund-transfer-1405" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">signature drive</a> to stop the fund transfer.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/8/16/philhealth-fund-transfer-points-to-fiscal-mess-and-is-illegal-up-econ-prof-1627" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">PhilHealth fund transfer points to fiscal mess, and is illegal: UP econ prof</a></div><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/8/21/p203-billion-worth-of-projects-to-be-funded-by-idle-philhealth-gocc-funds-dbm-1811" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">DBM lists P203 billion worth of projects to be funded by idle Philhealth, GOCC funds</a></div><div><strong>RELATED STORY:</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TaLYWJfY91o?autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>One of the biggest business groups in the country is urging PhilHealth to give its members more benefits and stop asking for more contributions while it has unused funds. </p>

One of the biggest business groups in the country is urging PhilHealth to give its members more benefits and stop asking for more contributions while it has unused funds.

Biz group urges PhilHealth to increase benefits, suspend rate hikes amid unused funds issue | ABS-CBN

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Biz group urges PhilHealth to increase benefits, suspend rate hikes amid unused funds issue

Biz group urges PhilHealth to increase benefits, suspend rate hikes amid unused funds issue

Benise Balaoing,

ABS-CBN News

Published Sep 09, 2024 04:00 PM PHT

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PhilHealth

funds

PhilHealth fund transfer

Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry

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