A resolution was filed in the House of Representatives to exempt minimum wage earners from the five percent increase in premium contributions to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. following its implementation last month.
According to Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo, the proponent of House Resolution 1595, PhilHealth could utilize its unspent funds for premium subsidies to cover the premium contributions of minimum wage earners.
Quimbo, the senior vice chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations, was referring to the accumulated P63 billion that Congress appropriated as part of PhilHealth’s subsidy premiums for indigent families, senior citizens, and persons with disability, that has yet to be utilized by the agency as of 2023.
“The unspent premium of PhilHealth can very well cover the premium contributions of minimum wage earners for at least a year since in 2022 their premium contribution only amounted to P19.6 billion,” Quimbo said on Tuesday.