House suspends DOH budget talks
THE House suspended plenary deliberations on the proposed 2025 budget of the Department of Health and it’s attached agencies, including Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).
AGRI Party-list Representative Wilbert “Manoy” Lee, who pressed for the suspension, bemoaned the DOH’s “lack of specific plans on reducing the out-of-pocket expenses of Filipinos on medical.”
During the House plenary debates, Lee moved to defer the proposed DOH budget multiple times as he was not satisfied by the responses of the agency regarding the implementation of the PhilHealth benefits increases which he is persistently pushing for.
This led to the suspension of the House deliberations on the DOH budget for 2025.
“Nakakadismaya po itong ganitong ginagawa ng DOH. Nagbibingi-bingihan ba ang mga opisyal ng Kagawarang ito o manhid na ba ito sa mga hinaing ng mga Pilipino pagdating sa kulang-kulang na serbisyong pangkalusugan? Bakit hindi nila maibigay ang dapat at kayang ibigay para sa buhay at kalusugan ng ating mga kababayan” Lee lamented.
Lee earlier blasted the DOH who leads the Benefits Committee (BenCom), the sub-committee responsible for the policy directions and benefits development of PhilHealth, on why its benefits packages remain unresponsive to the needs of members and beneficiaries
“We are not only violating their rights, worse, we are allowing them to die without a fight,” he added.
According to the Bicolano lawmaker, with the hundreds of billions of PhilHealth funds, he was “left with no choice” but to defer the DOH budget until the agency submits the following: a detailed and comprehensive plan with timeline on how to lower the out-of-pocket expenses of Filipinos on their hospitalization costs; implement a radical increase in the benefit package to include diagnostic tests such as the PET scan, MRI and CT scan as part of the outpatient services covered by PhilHealth; revised benefit plan approved by the PhilHealth Board with implementation timeline; implement full coverage for cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and procedures for heart diseases; implement the benefits increase across the board by 50% effective immediately; inclusion of optometric services and eyeglasses in PhilHealth benefits package not later than September 30; expansion plan on PhilHealth accredited facilities in providing various special medical services like breast cancer; implementation timeline of the Konsulta program of PhilHealth; comprehensive report on medicines and vaccines, including latest statement of allotment, obligation and disbursement and Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) latest statement of allotment, obligation and disbursement including plans and timelines in acquiring medical equipment for public hospitals.
