The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has released P2,021,895,000.00 that will cover the health insurance premium of indigent Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) members. 

“We are happy that before this year ends, we were able to cover the remaining subsidy for the health premiums of our kababayans. This is our way of showing that the DBM supports President Marcos Jr.’s goal of providing affordable and inclusive health care for all Filipinos,” DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said.   

The remaining 673,965 indigent individuals enrolled in the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) are covered by the Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) for the final billing period, which runs from January to December 2022.

The most recent release is chargeable to PhilHealth’s National Health Insurance Program's built-in appropriation for the fiscal year 2022. 

To date, the DBM has issued about P79.93 billion through three separate SAROs for the subsidy, which corresponds to various billings for the entire year (January to December 2022). This covers the health insurance premiums of 21,161,308 indirect contributors.

“Maganda po ang hangarin ng National Health Insurance Program. That is why we made sure po that the program will have a continuous fund for next year. In fact, for fiscal year 2023, the DBM has allocated over P100 billion for its implementation,”  Pangandaman noted. 

(The National Health Insurance Program has good intentions. That is why we made sure that the program will have a continuous fund for next year. In fact, for fiscal year 2023, the DBM has allocated over P100 billion for its implementation).