The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) calls for urgent reforms in the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) amid the debacle concerning allotting tens of millions of pesos for anniversaries and parties and its zero subsidy to fully realize President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ R. Marcos, Jr.’s assurance that PhilHealth services shall continue and, in fact, further increase moving forward.
The country’s largest labor center particularly underscores the imperative of addressing the sadly lacking strategic leadership of the Department of Health given that (DOH) Secretary Teodoro Herbosa, also sits as the Chairperson of the PhilHealth Board. “We are dumbfounded by the lack of decisiveness needed in meeting the mandate of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act which to quote the law is to ‘ensure that all Filipinos are guaranteed equitable access to quality and affordable health care goods and services, and protected against financial risk,’ said TUCP Vice President Luis C. Corral.
In an interview, President Marcos reiterated: “Hindi mababawasan ang bayad ng Philhealth sa insurance claim. In fact baligtad. Padadamihin pa namin ang serbisyong ibibigay ng Philhealth, pararamihin, palalakihin pa namin ang pagbayad sa insurance claims.” However, during a Senate Health Committee hearing on the PhilHealth budget, DOH Secretary Herbosa remarked that their implementation struggles on UHC partly arise because indigent patients and ordinary workers opt for private rooms rather than settling for confinement and treatment in charity wards where they could enjoy full PhilHealth coverage.
“The Secretary’s statement clearly runs counter to the tone-perfect assurance by the President that there will be no diminution of PhilHealth coverage packages and that these will further be enhanced. This is a highly insensitive, shocking, and condescending view—that ordinary workers should settle for the bare minimum of charity wards because that is all PhilHealth can pay for—especially coming from the Health Secretary and PhilHealth Chair. Whatever the good Secretary is peddling through his Darwinian vision of national healthcare is not just a disservice to the avowed aim of universal and equitable health care but a betrayal of our vision of a ‘Bagong Pilipinas’,” stated Corral.
While the UHC Law provides that “no co-payment shall be charged for services rendered in basic or ward accommodation,” it also provides that for every increase in the rate of contribution, which has been annually increasing since 2019 and until 2025, PhilHealth shall provide for a corresponding increase in benefits.
“How much have ordinary workers contributed to PhilHealth throughout their entire working lives? And isn’t the leadership and management of PhilHealth supposed to manage and invest these contributions to fund and ensure the best possible return in terms of coverage to their members? Perhaps it is time for Congress to take a second hard look at how PhilHealth is managed and how health insurance funded through worker contributions through Health Management Organizations fare in comparison. Certainly lavish Christmas parties, PhilHealth Anniversary bashes, and spending on corporate giveaways are far from what ordinary workers expect of PhilHealth,” lamented Corral.
“Instead of acknowledging the harsh ‘kalunos-lunos’ reality of overcrowded and underfunded public hospitals and charity wards, which further amplify and heighten the misery, pain, and fear of our sick countrymen and their immediate kin, it is as if Secretary Herbosa overlooked all these, cavalierly saying that it is the worker’s fault for getting private rooms in the hope of surviving their illnesses. The impression conveyed is that he is seemingly dismissive of our aspirations for better healthcare. Herbosa should have said, ‘This is what we can currently afford, but it’s not enough. Our patients deserve better, and we will fight tooth and nail to make this possible,” Corral pointed out.
The TUCP demands an immediate overhaul of PhilHealth’s priorities and calls on Secretary Herbosa and the DOH to advocate for enhanced healthcare packages that truly reflect the principles of Universal Health Care.
“It is the hard-earned contributions of the working class that sustain PhilHealth. It is not the worker’s fault that PhilHealth coverage falls short—it is the responsibility of its leadership to be on top to address these gaps. Filipinos need more than words—they need action that restores their faith in a healthcare system meant to protect and serve them with the quality and dignity that they demand and deserve,” emphasized Corral.
