Contribution hike eyed for PhilHealth members who violate public safety laws

The Department of Health (DOH) is looking into the possibility of increasing PhilHealth premium contributions for individuals found to be violating public safety laws such, as parents of minors who sustained firecracker-related injuries and undisciplined motorists.

Interviewed on Dobol B TV on Saturday, DOH spokesperson Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo said the policy change would be a “deterrent” to discourage parents from letting their children use firecrackers and encourage traffic law violators to comply with road safety rules.

“We will study it… especially what if the parent of the [firecracker] victim was an informal settler or jobless and is being subsidized by the government… We always say that don’t let your children use firecrackers but still it happens. So, we are looking into ways to deter this,” he said.

The Health Department official also cited the 1,113 road accidents recorded from December 21, 2025 to January 2, 2026, which were often caused by undisciplined riders who were either not wearing helmets or under the influence of alcohol.

The number is 82% higher than what was recorded during the same period last year.

Domingo clarified that PhilHealth will continue shouldering the expenses of victims, especially in DOH-run hospitals where zero-balance billing is in effect, regardless of the nature or cause of injury.

“But there should be a way to charge them… that’s why we are looking into what other countries are doing, which is increasing insurance premiums,” he said, referring to safety law violators.

The DOH said Friday that over a thousand individuals have been in road crash accidents and got injured during the holiday season. —Ted Cordero/ VAL, GMA Integrated News