Senators on Wednesday expressed support for Health Secretary Teodoro “Ted” Herbosa’s proposal to suspend the implementation of the scheduled contribution hike of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, or PhilHealth.

Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, principal author of the Republic Act 11223, or the Universal Health Care Act, said the suspension of the implementation of the 5 percent adjustment of the health state insurer’s monthly contribution would not hurt the health state insurer’s financial capabilities.

“Being the principal sponsor of the UHC, I support Sec. Ted Herbosa’s proposal to suspend the 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,” he told reporters in a text message.

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

Herbosa earlier said that he recommended to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. the postponement of the implementation of the adjusted premium rate of the health state insurer.

“My position is I think PhilHealth has enough money to actually continue to give benefits. It will not be hurt by delaying the increase in premium,” he said.

“Maybe it would be better if it were still suspended. If I am to be asked, it should still be suspended. Since it was suspended last year, no benefits have been affected,” he added.

Last week, PhilHealth President and CEO Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. announced that the health state insurer has implemented the 5 percent adjustment of premium rate from the current 4 percent.

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.

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.

PhilHealth said it is expected to rake in around a P17 billion increase in additional funds from the premium adjustment rate.

Sensitive

Likewise, Senator Risa Hontiveros backed the proposal to defer the health insurer’s scheduled contribution hike, stressing that it would be a relief for the public amid increasing prices of basic commodities.

“[T]he deferment of the implementation of the PhilHealth premium rate hike is not only considerate, but also sensitive to the economic burdens carried by our kababayan,” Hontiveros said in a separate statement.

“It has been done before, what more now that the Secretary of Health guarantees that PhilHealth has enough funding to push for the realization of the Universal Health Care?” she added.

Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, also supported the postponement of the scheduled premium hike.

“Yes, I support the suspension of the implementation of the increase in PhilHealth premium this year,” Go told reporters in a text message.

“Even though the State of Public Health Emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been lifted, until now our fellow countrymen still experience its effect on our economy,” he added.

Go emphasized that the planned premium increase will have an impact on people’s ability to afford to put food on their tables.

“The DOH said PhilHealth has enough funds to continue providing quality services to its members,” he stressed.

The lawmaker also called on PhilHealth to eradicate corruption in the agency and improve its services to the public.

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.

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.