The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) may yet achieve its goal of universal health coverage for all Filipinos, with an increased budget of PhP67.4 billion for its National Health Insurance Program (NHIP) in 2019. 

The proposed budget is 24.4% higher than the 2018 cash-based equivalent budget of PhP54.1 billion.  

For 2019, the Program is expected to benefit 15.4 million indigent families, 5.4 million senior citizens, 25,514 families under the PAyapa at MAsaganangPamayaNAn (PAMANA) Program, and 22,709 families under the Bangsamoro health insurance program.

According to Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno, the increased budget for Philhealth is an expression of the Duterte Administration’s commitment to achieve universal health coverage in the country.  

As of March 2018, the country’s health insurance program recorded a coverage of 98.24 million Filipinos, or 92% of the entire Philippine population.

 Of the total budget for the NHIP, PhP3.0 billion will be set aside for the Point-of-Service (POS) Program, which will target the remaining eight percent (8%) of the population that have not yet been covered by the health insurance program. Under this program, the PhilHealth premiums of indigent patients, specifically those in the poor (Class C3 or D) category, will be paid for by the government.

          Through the POS Program, the government also aims to address the gaps in coverage of both financially capable and financially incapable Filipinos, and to ensure 100% availment rate of health insurance coverage, with special interest in covering the poor.

“Looking back at the health agenda of the Duterte Administration, which is to  continue widening the coverage of the health insurance program, we can see that we are definitely on the right track,” the Budget Chief concluded.

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