Leaders of healthcare organizations in the Philippines are urging Congress to increase the proposed 2027 budget for the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), warning that the proposed allocation could be exhausted within the first quarter of next year.
In their position paper on the proposed 2027 General Appropriations Bill, the healthcare leaders said the proposed ₱74-billion allocation for PhilHealth is insufficient to sustain its benefits, calling for a minimum subsidy of ₱244 billion to address an estimated ₱170-billion funding gap.
They also called for the immediate release and appropriation of approximately ₱311 billion in earmarked revenues from sin taxes, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), which they said have been withheld or left unappropriated for health programs since 2022.
Meanwhile, the group opposed the proposed increase in funding for the Medical Assistance for Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP), from around ₱24 billion to nearly ₱50 billion.
According to the healthcare leaders, the current system is inequitable because access to medical assistance allegedly depends on the discretion of local officials and lawmakers rather than patients’ actual medical needs.
They are calling for the transfer of discretionary medical assistance funds, including MAIFIP, to PhilHealth, where assistance can be administered through transparent and rules-based mechanisms.
The group also urged the government to strengthen zero-balance billing for indigent and financially incapacitated patients and ensure greater transparency and accountability in the allocation and use of funds for Universal Health Care.
The healthcare leaders stressed that access to medical treatment should be based on patients’ health needs and financial capacity—not political connections.
They called on Congress and the Executive branch to put patients, rather than political interests, at the center of the 2027 national budget.
Reference: Napoleon Rebatio
