Philhealth got half of P5.9-B state subsidy in November

Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), the state-run firm that administers the national health insurance program, cornered half of the subsidies given away by the  government in November.

The latest Bureau of the Treasury data showed that of the P5.96 billion in subsidies granted to government-owned and/or -controlled corporations (GOCCs) last month, PhilHealth got P2.968 billion or 49.8 percent of the total.

Last year, PhilHealth received P43.8 billion, the largest amount of subsidies given to a GOCC.

The latest data on its website showed that in 2016, PhilHealth had 41.2 million members with 52.2 million dependents, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to 93.4 million or 91 percent of the estimated 2016 population.

Next year, PhilHealth would also receive the biggest chunk of subsidies worth P57.1 billion.

The total GOCC subsidies in November nonetheless declined by 58.1 percent from P14.234 billion in the same month a year ago.

From January to November, the government gave away P99.861 billion in subsidies, up from P98.124 billion in the first 11 months of last year.

Up to 90 percent of the subsidies that state corporations receive were spent on programs and projects, while the remainder covered operational expenses, according to the Governance Commission for GOCCs.—BEN O. DE VERA