Palace still studying PhilHealth premium hike

Palace still studying PhilHealth premium hike | Daily Tribune

The fate of the proposed hike in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. member contributions remained uncertain as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is still reviewing the increase.

Malacañang confirmed this on Friday in a statement that contrasted with PhilHealth president and CEO Emmanuel Ledesma Jr.’s pronouncement that Mr. Marcos had “no objection” to increasing PhilHealth contributions.

“The review is still ongoing. The President wants to ensure that any increase in premiums will substantially be much more in value in terms of benefits and coverage to PhilHealth members,” Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil told Palace reporters in a Viber message.

In a press briefing in Pasig City, Ledesma said that the state health insurer had received a letter from the Office of the President via Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, affirming that “they have no objection to the planned increase, which took effect on January 1st,” following a “very thorough study.”

Ledesma said the agency sought clarification from the President after Health Secretary Ted Herbosa appealed to halt the implementation of the increase.

“It was clearly stated by (the President) that the premium increase will continue,” Ledesma said.

Herbosa urged Marcos to reconsider the proposed contribution increase last January.

“I’ll see. I’ll tell them. Okay, if you’re going to increase it, show the other side of that. What will be the increase in services? What will be able to cover? What more will you be able to cover?” Marcos said previously.

Starting 1 January, the premium rate rose to 5 percent, with the monthly basic salary ceiling increasing to P100,000 while maintaining the minimum at P10,000.

For instance, if a worker earns P10,000 monthly, their monthly PhilHealth contribution would now be P500 starting this year. This contribution will be evenly divided between the employee and the employer.

Last year, the premium rate was slated to increase to 4.5 percent, and the monthly basic salary ceiling was set to reach P90,000. However, Marcos postponed the adjustment due to the socioeconomic challenges brought about by the pandemic.

The planned increase in PhilHealth rates aligns with the Universal Health Care Law enacted in 2019 during the administration of then-President Rodrigo Duterte.

The law stipulates incremental hikes in the PhilHealth contribution rates, culminating in them reaching 5 percent by 2024.