BUT LEGISLATION NEEDED

Duterte favors deferring PhilHealth contribution hike –Go

President Rodrigo Duterte is in favor of deferring the 2021 contribution increase for members of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) but acknowledged that legislation was needed for it, Senator Bong Go said Sunday.

Go, chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Duterte’s long-time aide, said the President expressed willingness to sign legislation that would allow the deferment of the increase in contribution from 3 percent to 3.5 percent.

“Base sa usapan namin ni Pangulong Duterte, sang-ayon naman po siya na ipagpaliban pansamantala muna ang pagtaas sa rates ng contributions ng PhilHealth habang may pandemya pa tayong kinakaharap,” he said in a statement.

“Sinabi niya na kung may maipapasang batas ang lehislatibo na naglalayong ipatupad ang deferment, o kung may kailangang aprubahan na dagdag na pondo mula gobyerno para hindi maantala ang serbisyo ng PhilHealth, pipirmahan niya ito pagkatapos mapag-aralan ng mabuti,” he added.

Go also said the Department of Budget and Management was looking into whether the government could augment the amount needed by the state health insurer in order for its services to remain unaffected by the deferment of the contribution hike.

“The government, as a whole, must do its best to unburden Filipinos by shouldering the cost while ensuring that the UHC (Universal Health Care) law is implemented and the services of PhilHealth are unhampered,” the senator said.

Go earlier said the contribution increase could be deferred through a provision in the proposed Bayanihan 3 law

He added that another option was to “propose an amendatory bill that will specifically address the specific provision in the UHC law mandating the said increase.”

“I am appealing to our government finance managers and fellow legislators to highly consider the deferment of the implementation of the increase in PhilHealth contribution rate for 2021,” Go urged.

PhilHealth previously said the contribution hike was meant to ensure “sufficient funding for the healthcare benefits of its 110 million members as mandated by the Republic Act No. 11223 or the UHC law.”

The announcement followed an explosive revelation of a resigned PhilHealth anti-fraud officer in August last year that the state insurer’s executive committee pocketed P15 billion in funds.

The controversy led to the resignation of former PhilHealth President and CEO Ricardo Morales as well as the filing of charges against him and other high-ranking officials of the agency. — DVM, GMA News