The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, or PhilHealth, on Friday said it has started implementing its scheduled contribution hike this year.

According to PhilHealth president and CEO Emmanuel Ledesma Jr., the health state insurer has implemented the 5 percent adjustment of premium rate from the current 4 percent.

“We usually have an increase at the beginning of the year. Yes, it has pushed through. It has already taken effect,” Ledesma told reporters in a press briefing.

He noted that those affected by the 5 percent adjustment rate are their direct members, who have monthly earnings ranging from P10,000 to P100,000.

Employees and employers equally contribute to PhilHealth, with contributions based on a fixed percentage of each member’s monthly basic salary.

Ledesma said that in the event that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issues an order to delay the implementation of the premium rate adjustment, he noted that the health state insurer shall comply.

“As of 12 January, we have yet to receive any message or directives from Malacañang. We are just following the law. We already [took] a big step in implementing the increase,” he said.

“Going forward, if ever we receive an instruction or directive from Malacañang, we will comply but since as of today there’s none, we already implemented it,” he added.

Under Section 10 of Republic Act 11223, or the Universal Health Care Act, PhilHealth shall implement the last adjustment of premium contribution or the 5 percent contribution rate and income ceiling of P100,000 this year.

The PhilHealth chief said the corporation’s finances are enough to support its current and future programs and services should Marcos decide to defer the planned premium rate hike.

“The cash position of PhilHealth is good. I don’t think any of the programs or the packages will still continue. Nothing will be affected. We’ll still be able to, as we are expecting to successfully implement everything this year,” he said.

Last year, Marcos issued a memorandum ordering the deferral of the scheduled hike in the PhilHealth premium rate from 4 percent to 4.5 percent.

He cited “socioeconomic challenges” and “difficult times” as reasons for the suspension of PhilHealth’s scheduled premium rate and income ceiling adjustments.