Solon files bill granting President power to suspend PhilHealth contribution hike

Marikina City 2nd Dist. Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo. Photo from Teacher Stella Quimbo Facebook

MANILA, Philippines — Marikina City Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo filed Tuesday a bill seeking to grant the President power to suspend the implementation of the scheduled Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) contribution increase “when public interest so requires.”

Quimbo’s bill amends Republic Act No. 11223 or the Universal Health Care Act, which mandates increases in member premiums by increments of 0.5 percent every year, starting 2021 until it reaches the 5-percent limit in 2025.

For 2021, the premium rate is scheduled to increase to 3.5 percent of the monthly basic salary, from the 2020 rate of 3 percent.

But Quimbo’s bill grants the President the power to suspend the implementation of the increases “when public interest so requires” such as times of national emergencies.

“Subsequent scheduled increases in contributions shall be adjusted to fall on the years following the lifting of the suspension,” the bill states.

In the bill’s explanatory note, Quimbo pointed out that the UHC Act “could not have foreseen the COVID-19 pandemic that has battered our health care sector and our people’s livelihoods in the past year.”

“Given ongoing economic hardships, we can expect a difficulty on the part of PhilHealth members and employers to comply with the increased premium rate this year. Such increases will only further decrease households’ disposable incomes and stifle consumption,” Quimbo said.

Quimbo likewise said it would be prudent to address issues within PhilHealth first prior to any further increases in the agency’s funds through premium contributions.

“To date, PhilHealth has not made clear how it will utilize the P71 billion pesos allocated for premium subsidies under the 2021 General Appropriations Act,” Quimbo said.

“While this amount is similar to the budget allocated to PhilHealth in previous years, PhilHealth projects an overall deficit of 86 billion pesos in 2021, suggesting significant leakages and calling into question PhilHealth’s management of its funds,” she added.

President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the postponement of the PhilHealth member contributions increase due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, some argue that a law is needed to alter an existing law, which includes its implementation.

JPV