Higher budget to support Philippine health system

The Philippines saw its first increase in health budget allocation in four years backed with higher commitment in the proposed budget in 2026, which is expected to boost the country’s healthcare system, Fitch Solutions unit BMI said.

“Commitments to improving health infrastructure in the 2026 State Budget will support development of the health system across all regions,” BMI said in a report on Tuesday.

It added that improvement to healthcare facilities has become a budget priority for 2026, as the government aims to promote equitable access to quality healthcare.

In the report, BMI said it revised its compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for government health expenditure to 7.9% and cut private health CAGR to 7.5% over the 2024-2029 period.

Meanwhile its CAGR for total health expenditure is unchanged at 7.6%.

“The upward revision in government expenditure is also supported by the State budget for 2026, which sees the first increase in health budget allocation for four years,” it said, noting that this signal growing priority for healthcare in the country even within limited fiscal resources.

These revisions were supported by a strong increase total health spending in 2024, according to the local statistics agency, where total health expenditure rose over 17% reaching 5.9% of the gross domestic product in 2024.

The 2026 National Expenditure Plan showed that the Department of Health was earmarked P320.5 billion under next year’s budget, up by 29% from this year’s P248 billion.

State hospitals in Metro Manila were allotted P27.7 billion, while regional hospitals will receive P99.5 billion to boost healthcare capacity. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante.