Ejercito seeks P74.4B subsidy for UHC Act implementation

Senator JV Ejercito is pushing for an additional P74.4 billion in subsidies for PhilHealth to support the full implementation of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act.

This funding is intended to backstop President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s State of the Nation Address (SoNA) vow for zero-balance billing for Filipinos at Department of Health (DoH) hospitals.

During his SoNA, Marcos stated that basic accommodation in DoH hospitals should be free, meaning patients will have no out-of-pocket expenses.

Ejercito, a proponent of the UHC Act, emphasized the need for this supplemental budget to ensure the zero-balance billing provision is sustained.

He also noted that while the UHC law exists, its aggressive implementation and funding are lacking.

Ejercito suggested that the additional budget could be sourced from the government's "extra revenue," though the article mentions potential new borrowings or funds from government-owned and controlled corporations due to deficit spending.