Senators back PhilHealth premium hike suspension

Senators on Wednesday backed Health Secretary Ted Herbosa on his request to suspend the implementation of Philippine Health Insurance Corporation's (PhilHealth) premium rate hike in 2024.

Senator JV Ejercito, sponsor of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Law, expressed support for Herbosa, adding he had filed a bill adjusting the PhilHealth premium rate increase.

“I support Sec. Ted Herbosa’s proposal to suspend increase in Philhealth contributions because there is a pending bill that I filed on amendments to the UHC to adjust premium rates as we are still recovering from the pandemic,” Ejercito said. 

“We have done studies on the numbers and PhilHealth said it will not affect the benefits and packages,” he added. 

Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, Health committee chairperson, expressed a similar sentiment that Filipinos are still reeling from the economic impact of the pandemic. 

“Marami pa rin tayong mga kababayan ang nahihirapan sa kanilang hanapbuhay. Huwag na nating dagdagan pa ang bigat ng hirap na kanilang dinadala,” Go said. 

(A lot of Filipinos are still struggling with their livelihood. Let us not put additional burden on them.)

“Bilang chair ng Senate committee on health, panawagan ko naman sa pamunuan ng PhilHealth ay tuluyang sugpuin ang mga anomalya sa ahensya, pagbutihin ang serbisyo nito at siguraduhing bawat piso sa pondo ng taumbayan ay nagagamit para sa mga Pilipino,” he said. 

(As the chairperson of the Senate health committee, I call on the PhilHealth leadership to curb all anomalies within the agency and improve their service.)

Senator Risa Hontiveros, for her part, said that deferring the implementation of the PhilHealth premium rate hike would not only be considerate but also sensitive to the economic burdens of the nation.

“Nagawa naman na noon, ngayon pa kayang may garantiya mula sa mismong Secretary of Health na may sapat na pondo ang PhilHealth para isulong ang pagsasakatuparan ng Universal Health Care?” she said in a statement.

(It was done before; it could also be done now that there’s a guarantee from the Secretary of Health that PhilHealth has enough funds to push for Universal Health Care.)

Earlier, Herbosa said he sent a recommendation letter to President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.  urging for the suspension of the PhilHealth premium hike this year. 

Malacañang confirmed that Herbosa's appeal has been brought to the attention of the President and the recommendation is currently being studied. 

The scheduled increase in PhilHealth rates is in accordance with the UHC, which was signed in 2019 by then-President Rodrigo Duterte.

The law mandates hikes in the PhilHealth contribution rate until it reaches 5% by 2024.

To recall, Marcos ordered the suspension of the premium rate and income ceiling hike of PhilHealth for the calendar year 2023, citing the socioeconomic challenges caused by the pandemic.

The premium rate was supposed to increase to 4.5% last year, while the monthly basic salary ceiling should have been P90,000.—Sundy Locus/AOL, GMA Integrated News