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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Defensor seeks reprieve for PhilHealth members

Defensor seeks reprieve for PhilHealth members

Published Jan 3, 2021 03:09 pm

Being a “fortuitous event,” the COVID-19 pandemic crisis should prod the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to grant  a six-month reprieve to its members from paying higher premium contributions, Anakalusugan partylist Rep. Michael Defensor said Sunday. 

Anakalusugan Party-List Rep. Mike Defensor
(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)

He called on the PhilHealth’s Board of Directors to seriously consider the six-month suspension of the hike in premium contributions from three percent to 3.5 percent of the monthly basic salary of members this year.

“We are in the middle of a once-in-a-century pandemic. Even private pre--need companies are declaring a ‘fortuitous event’ to justify delays in the payment of their contractual obligations to thousands of planholders,” Defensor said in a statement. 

Sitting at the State health insurer’s 13-member governing board are the Secretary of Health, Secretary of Social Welfare and Development, Secretary of Budget and Management, Secretary of Finance, and the Secretary of Labor and Employment.

“Surely, PhilHealth members also deserve a temporary reprieve from the half percentage point increase in premium contributions,” said Defensor, who previously chaired the House Committee on Public Accounts that investigated the alleged corruption in PhilHealth last year, along with the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability.

He said they roughly estimate that PhilHealth will be postponing less than P500-million worth of incremental premiums on an annual basis from direct contributors.

“The P500 million is a drop in the bucket for PhilHealth. However, if the money is taken from the pockets of salaried employees, especially minimum wage earners, it will add to their financial hardship,” Defensor, vice chairperson of the House Committee on Health, said.

“In fact, we have many households that used to have two gainfully employed members, but now have only one due to the crisis,” he stressed. 

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