House bill: President can suspend PhilHealth contribution hike

Members line up at the counters of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation or PhilHealth. (INQUIRER file photo)

MANILA, Philippines — A bill seeking to grant the President power to suspend the period of implementation of the increase of premium rates for the direct contributors of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) was filed by Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.

 The said bill is an amendment of Republic Act No. 11223, or the “Universal Health Care Act,” which will give way to a rise of contributions in 2023 from 4 percent to 4.5 percent, or from the minimum monthly premium of P400 to P450.

 “The President of the Philippines may, upon recommendation of the PhilHealth board, suspend and adjust the period of implementation of the scheduled increase of premium rates during national emergencies or calamities, or when public interest so requires,” the proposed amendment states.

Romualdez, in a statement on Sunday, said the suspension of the adjustment would remove “an added financial burden on millions of government and private sector workers, professionals, self-employed, and other Philhealth contributors” who are still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

 Daily wage earners and many employees, who comprise the majority of Philhealth members, would save at least P50 a month or P600 a year from their health insurance premium payment if the adjustment were suspended, while those who earn more will also save more.

Romualdez —  along with his four co-authors, Majority Leader Mannix Dalipe, Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos, and Tingog Party-list Reps. Yedda Romualdez and Jude Acidre — in filing the amendatory bill cited the objective of the Universal Health Care Act itself, which is to “ensure that all Filipinos are guaranteed equitable access to [qualified] and affordable health care goods and services, and protected against financial risk.”

“The intent of the law is clear and cannot be overemphasized. Filipinos need and deserve a comprehensive set of health services that are cost effective, high quality and responsive to the requirements of all citizens,” they said.

“While Philhealth only aims to fulfill and remain faithful to its mandate, imposing a higher premium on Filipinos in these current conditions where most of them are grappling with the pandemic will definitely enforce a new round of financial burden to its members,” they added.

They then stressed that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has also supported calls to defer this year’s increase in Philhealth premiums.

RA 11223 defines “direct contributors” as “those who have the capacity to pay premiums, are gainfully employed and are bound by an employer-employee relationship, or are self-earning, professional practitioners, migrant workers, including their qualified dependents, and lifetime members.”

The term “indirect contributors” refers to “all others not included as direct contributors, as well as their qualified dependents, whose premium shall be subsidized by the national government including those who are subsidized as a result of special laws.”

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