By Clarist Zablan
(February 20, 2024) – A lawmaker on Tuesday urged the state health insurer to temporarily stop collecting premiums from minimum wage earners after the Lower House initiated a review of its charter aimed at expanding its benefits.
Marikina Congresswoman Stella Luz Quimbo filed a resolution urging the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to suspend premiums for minimum wage earners until the lower house’s health panel concludes its review of the PhilHealth charter.
“Habang kayang i-suspend ang pag bayad ng premium ng minimum wage earners, dapat gamitin ang panahong ito para bumuo ng mga pangmatagalang solusyon gaya ng pagpapalawak ng benepisyong pangkalusugan at pagreporma sa premium contribution ng ating mga manggagawa,” Quimbo said in a news release.
This suspension would also effectively increase the monthly minimum wage for non-agriculture workers in the national capital region by P400, she said.
Last week, House Speaker Martin Romualdez directed the health committee to review the PhilHealth charter aimed at “exploring avenues to augment benefits for Filipino patients” and provide “more comprehensive healthcare coverage.”
The review targeted an increase in PhilHealth’s benefits covering at least half of the costs of private hospital wards and free examinations for early detection of diseases such as cancer.
Quimbo also noted that the insurer was expected in 2023 to generate a gross margin of P173.4 billion from its social health insurance program, more than doubling from the previous year, despite having to suspend its premium rate and income ceiling hike last year.
Philhealth’s reserve funds is also estimated to have grown by 68% to P463.7 billion by the end of last year, she said.
Quimbo said PhilHealth can shoulder the costs of suspending the estimated P19.6 billion contributions of minimum wage earners “without compromising its financial stability.”
“The 2022 unspent appropriations for premium subsidies amounting to PhP 24 billion can be utilized to subsidize the employee share in premium contributions of minimum wage earners and the premium contributions of self-employed individuals earning minimum wage in 2024,” the resolution read.
The Philippines signed into law the Universal Health Care Act in 2019, which automatically enrolled all Filipino citizens into the national health insurance program and expanded PhilHealth’s coverage, while implementing a gradual contribution rate hike.
Last year, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved a proposal of the health department to create a coordinating council tasked to oversee the implementation of the Universal Health Care law nationwide and at the local government level.
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