PhilHealth hikes premiums to 5%

PhilHealth hikes premiums to 5%

The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) is expecting to rake in around P17 billion in additional funds with the implementation this year of the mandated hike in premiums from 4 percent to 5 percent.

In a press conference on Friday, PhilHealth president and CEO Emmanuel Ledesma announced that the state insurer has finally pushed through with the scheduled increase in members’ contributions a year after it was suspended by President Marcos to provide financial relief to its members.

“For us to be able to sustain these benefit enhancements, PhilHealth needs to continue strengthening its fund,” Ledesma said. “As a key implementer of the UHC (Universal Health Care) law … PhilHealth is bound to implement what was mandated.”

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Under Republic Act No. 11223, or the UHC Act, the PhilHealth is mandated to raise members’ premiums by 0.5 percent every year starting 2019. The scheduled increases will end in 2025 when it reaches the second year of the 5-percent limit.

Last year, the state insurer was supposed to raise contributions from 4 percent to 4.5 percent, but this was deferred by the President, citing “socioeconomic challenges.”

Expanded membership

Based on this year’s rates, which took effect on Jan. 1, direct contributors are expected to pay the new premium rates ranging from P500 to P5,000, depending on the income level. This means the income ceiling of members was raised from P90,000 to P100,000, while the income floor was retained at P10,000.

Indirect contributors, or those incapable of paying premiums, are automatically enrolled to the National Health Insurance Program. These include indigents identified by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiaries, seniors, unemployed persons with disabilities as well as the rest of adults “without capacity to pay premiums.”

Domestic workers, or

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