By Dr. Tony Leachon 

The recent pronouncements suggesting expanded benefit packages for paying PhilHealth members — particularly those in the middle class — reveal a troubling drift toward a two-tiered health system. While the concerns of contributors who pay ₱30,000 to ₱60,000 annually are valid, the proposed solution of granting “more benefits for those who pay more” undermines the very foundation of the Universal Health Care Act.

PhilHealth was created to embody solidarity: the healthy supporting the sick, the wealthy supporting the poor, and the government ensuring equity through subsidies and earmarked revenues. To introduce differentiated benefit packages based on contribution levels is to erode this principle. It transforms health care from a right into a commodity, accessible in proportion to one’s ability to pay.

The consequences of such a policy are stark:

• Erosion of Equity: Vulnerable groups — indigents, senior citizens, persons with disabilities — would be relegated to inferior packages, deepening inequality.

• Fragmentation of Solidarity: The social contract that binds contributors together would be broken, fostering resentment rather than unity.

• Distortion of Purpose: PhilHealth would cease to be a universal safety net and instead become a tiered insurance scheme, betraying its mandate.

• Risk of Catastrophic Costs: Middle-class families, despite higher contributions, would still face catastrophic expenses if benefit ceilings remain arbitrary and unequal.

The July 2025 implementation of zero balance billing in government hospitals was a step toward equity — ensuring that all medical expenses are fully covered regardless of contribution. To reverse this by creating differentiated packages is not reform; it is regression.

Health care is not a privilege reserved for those who can pay more. It is a human right, enshrined in law and affirmed by the moral duty of the state. The path forward is not to stratify benefits but to strengthen funding, enforce automatic appropriations, and ensure that PhilHealth fulfills its universal mandate.

In the end, the measure of a health system is not how well it serves those who can afford it, but how faithfully it protects those who cannot.

To embrace two-tiered benefits is to abandon the promise of universal health care. To resist it is to defend the dignity and equality of every Filipino.

#RelentlessForChange
#HealthWithHonor