Defer PhilHealth premium hike: Biz groups

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Business groups are seeking for the deferment by one year of  the increase in the contribution to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.  (PhilHealth) which they said should  instead focus on improving its services.

In a letter to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. dated Feb. 28, 2024, the heads of the  Employers Confederation of the Philippines, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc.  called  for the delay in the  5-percent increase until 2025 as a “temporary reprieve (that would)  provide much-needed relief to the majority of vulnerable micro and small establishments, as well as Filipino workers.”

But a statement of the Presidential Communication Office yesterday Malacañang is yet to approve the pending hike which was supposed to take effect January 2024.

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In an interview before leaving for Australia,  Marcos said they are still reviewing the proposal, saying there should be additional benefits to all PhilHealth members that come with the price hike.

“It’s under review. What we are trying to determine is that if we are going to increase the contribution from four percent to five percent, there should be a trade off. It’s really a cause-benefit analysis,” President Marcos said.

The chief executive though acknowledged the state insurer has expanded their benefits over the years.

Philhealth has  increased dialysis support to three times a week for outpatients, which is equivalent to full weekly coverage and increased its coverage for “Case Z conditions” such as cancer.

If we can justify the increase then we’ll do it but if not, we won’t. It’s just a very straight forward cause-benefit analysis,” Marcos said.

The business groups backed  the call of Health  Secretary Teodoro  Herbosa, who also serves as the chairperson of PhilHealth, to suspend the 5 percent  premium increase.

They said Herbosa has stated doing so would not significantly impact PhilHealth’s financial standing and that the agency has sufficient funds to continue providing benefits and services to its members.

The groups also said PhilHealth president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Ledesma himself affirmed this claim, stating that even if the said proposal is implemented, PhilHealth’s fund will not be depleted.

The Universal Health Care (UHC) Law of the Philippines, while aiming to offer comprehensive healthcare coverage for all citizens, faces various challenges, especially for our Filipino workers, the business groups said.

They cited a research from the Philippine Institute for Development Studies  which noted ongoing issues related to access and affordability.

“Despite being PhilHealth members, individuals still shoulder a significant portion of hospital expenses themselves. This situation particularly impacts vulnerable groups, including the elderly, women, and those in rural and impoverished areas, who disproportionately shoulder the burden due to limitations in national health insurance coverage,” they added.

UHC directs the PhilHeallth contribution rate to be raised by 0.5% annually beginning in 2021 and continuing until it reaches 5 percent from 2024 to 2025.

President Marcos previously suspended the increase in income ceiling and premium rate for 2023.

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