A CONGRESSMAN on Monday urged the House of Representatives to tackle a measure that will cut the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.’s (PhilHealth) premiums to 4% from 5% under the Universal Healthcare Act.
Filed by Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee in October, House Bill No. 10995 seeks to reduce the premium payments made by PhilHealth contributors to 4% this year, with incremental increases of 0.25% until 2026.
The measure also allows the president to suspend further premium contribution hikes in times of national and public health emergencies, and state of calamities.
“PhilHealth has a substantial amount of money, it should be allocated not only for expanding benefits for Filipinos, but also for reducing contributions, which is also a heavy burden for many of our countrymen,” he said in a statement.
In August, the Senate passed a bill reducing monthly premium contributions to 3.25% for those with a monthly income of P10,000 to P50,000.
The agency started hiking its monthly contribution rate in 2019 to sustain the benefits given to its members. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio