JV Ejercito: PhilHealth benefits must be felt by patients, not eaten up by medical inflation
September 04, 2026
Senate Senior Deputy Majority Leader JV Ejercito raised the concern that increased PhilHealth benefits could be offset by rising hospital charges and professional fees, citing cases where Filipino patients still face large hospital bills despite having PhilHealth coverage.
“Hindi puwedeng tinaasan natin ang PhilHealth benefits pero kinakain naman ito ng medical inflation, higher hospital charges, at professional fees. Otherwise, limitado rin ang magiging benefit nito sa pasyente,” Ejercito said during the budget hearing of the Committee on Finance on Friday, Sept. 4.
“Ultimately, ang sukatan naman natin ng health budget ay hindi lang kung gaano kalaki ang inilaan natin. Ang tanong: mas kaunti ba ang binabayaran ng pasyente, mas accessible ba ang healthcare, at mas maraming Pilipino ba ang napoprotektahan?” he added.
The Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Ejercito, has approved at the committee level the P353.58-billion proposed 2027 budget of the Department of Health (DOH) and its attached agencies and corporations.
The DOH initially requested P376.71 billion from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). For PhilHealth, the 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP) provides P74.45 billion in government subsidy.
During the budget hearing, PhilHealth President and CEO Beverly Ho said that they are pursuing several measures to address the problem. This includes negotiating directly with hospitals, working with medical societies on professional fees, and providing incentives to hospitals that increase their zero-balance-billing beds.
Ho said PhilHealth is also studying the use of Diagnosis-Related Groupings (DRGs) and patient data to better adjust case rates for patients with more complex conditions, such as those with comorbidities or older patients.
Out-of-pocket spending
As principal sponsor and author of the Universal Healthcare Act, Ejercito also underscored the country’s high out-of-pocket healthcare spending, noting that the government is targeting a reduction in the household out-of-pocket share from the current 41.2% to 28%.
He also questioned whether the proposed PhilHealth funding would be enough to sustain the expansion of benefits and move the country closer to the UHC goal.
“Ang goal naman talaga ng Universal Health Care is to reduce the out-of-pocket spending of our people. We welcome the expansion of PhilHealth benefits, but we have to make sure that these benefits are actually felt by patients,” Ejercito said.
Ho said the agency would need around P244 billion next year to cover the projected payouts for indirect contributors based on current benefits and utilization. This would leave a significant gap against the P74.45-billion allocation in the NEP.
Ejercito also said faster payments should continue to be pursued to help reduce the financial pressures being passed on to patients.
“Kung mas mabilis ang payment ng PhilHealth, mas mababawasan din ang dahilan para tumaas ang charges dahil sa cost of money. Kailangan maayos natin ito para mas mapunta talaga sa pasyente ang benefit ng PhilHealth,” he said.
Making MAIFIP more strategic
Ejercito said PhilHealth and Medical Assistance for Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients Program (MAIFIP) should complement each other so that patients receive the assistance they need without unnecessarily duplicating government support.
“Dapat complementary ang PhilHealth at MAIFIP. Ang objective natin ay kung ano ang hindi kayang sagutin ng PhilHealth, doon papasok ang MAIFIP. At kung kaya namang i-cover ng PhilHealth, dapat doon na natin ilagay para mas efficient ang paggamit ng pondo,” he said.
Health Secretary Edwin Mercado said that the DOH is looking at negotiated payment arrangements with private hospitals for more expensive cases, while also expanding MAIFIP support to LGU hospitals.
Ejercito said the committee will continue to scrutinize the health budget as it moves to plenary deliberations, particularly on whether the proposed allocations are sufficient to advance UHC and reduce the financial burden on Filipino families.
