Group hits PhilHealth premium hike

The Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD) on Saturday slammed the increase in the contribution rate of members of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. despite the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

“Amid the people’s economic hardships particularly in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic and despite  serious corruption issues within its organization, PhilHealth callously announced that effective January 2021, it will implement an increase in monthly premium contributions as provided in the Universal Health Care Law,” HEAD said.

Starting this month, the premium rate of PhilHealth members will increase to 3.50% of monthly basic salary from 3.00%in 2020.

Contributions of employed members shall be equally shared between employees and employers, while those of self-paying members, professional practitioners and land-based migrant workers and other direct contributors with no employee-employer relationship are computed straight based on their monthly earnings and paid wholly by the member.

Under the Universal Health Care (UHC) law, the premium rate shall increase to increments of 0.5% every year, starting 2021 until it reaches the 5% limit in 2025.

HEAD said it has since been raising serious objections to the insurance-based UHC Law with PhilHealth as its prime mover.

“HEAD has also since pointed out that the scheduled increases of up to 5% in premium contribution in the next seven years as mandated in the UHC Law will impact heavily on the people,” it said.

“PhilHealth’s announcement of the increase in the premium contribution reflects the government's utter disregard to the people’s well-being,” it added.

The group said that instead of alleviating the people’s economic hardships, the government inflicts more burdens to the people by increasing PhilHealth premium contribution from last year’s 3% to 3.5% deduction to the members’ salary in 2021 — amounting to P350 to P2,450 per month.

“The additional government’s exaction is sought by PhilHealth amid the scandals and various cases of fraud  and graft and corruption that its top officials have been accused of and which had resulted in the exhaustion of [health insurance] funds,” HEAD said.

During the Senate hearings on the PhilHealth case, billions of pesos were reported lost to corruption.

Based on the testimony of a whistleblower during a Senate hearing, HEAD said that in 2019 alone, an estimated P15 billion of taxpayer's hard-money and premium contributions went to the pockets of its officials, and their cohorts.

“For year 2021, 71.4 billion of people’s money is again allotted to the corruption-riddled PhilHealth,” the group said.

PhilHealth has since defended the contribution rate hike, saying it is mandated under the UHC law and it will sustain the health care benefits for all Filipinos. 

“HEAD calls on the Filipino people to demand the government to reject the increase of PhilHealth premium, and denounce the practice of making the insurance corporation a milking cow for corrupt officials,” the group said.

“HEAD also reiterates its call for the government to take full responsibility for the people’s health and address the  crisis of corruption,” it added.

The group also called for abolishment of PhilHealth and allocate its funds directly for public health, state-run hospitals and health facilities. 

“With bigger and better funding, public health facilities can have more medical supplies and medicines and  can provide free and quality out-patient services, while bigger facilities like hospitals will have better and  more complete diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities,” it said.

HEAD also called for the development and strengthening of the public health care system that is integrated and tax-funded and that can provide  free, and comprehensive health care. 

“Develop a health care system that is centrally planned and anchored on the principle that health is a basic  right,” it said. —LBG, GMA News