ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Villanueva to PhilHealth: Answer unresolved issues first before raising contributions this June

Villanueva to PhilHealth: Answer unresolved issues first before raising contributions this June

Published May 6, 2022 04:14 pm

Re-electionist Senator Joel Villanueva on Friday, May 6 urged the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to answer unresolved issues and controversies as the agency is set to increase contributions this June.

“Ngayong magtataas sila ng singil, dapat rin nating singilin ang PhilHealth ng sagot sa mga isyu na natalakay natin noon sa mga hearing sa Senado (Now that it seeks to increase contributions this June, PhilHealth should answer the issues raised against it during a Senate committee hearing). Ano ang mga hakbang na ginawa at ginagawa ng PhilHealth upang matugunan ang mga anomalya sa pondo na naungkat natin sa mga nakaraang Senate hearings? (What measures has PhilHealth done or is doing?) Nabayaran na ba ng PhilHealth ang mga utang nito sa ospital nitong pandemya? (Has it paid its debts to hospitals during this Covid-19 pandemic?). Dapat may report at accounting sila bago pa man sila magpatupad ng mas mataas na singil (There should be a report and an accounting before it implements its scheduled rate increase),” said Villanueva.

In addition, Villanueva said that the mandated increase in PhilHealth contributions starting next month should equate to better health services, especially with inflation in the country hitting a three-year high at 4.9 percent and rising prices of fuel and basic goods.

Villanueva has previously stated that even prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, PhilHealth has been recording persistently low support value, or the portion of hospitalization costs that the agency shoulders vis-a-vis the members' total hospital bill.

This is despite the increased funds of PhilHealth from premium payments from direct contributors and the annual appropriations in the national budget to finance the implementation of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Law.

Under the Republic Act 11223, or the Universal Health Care Act, PhilHealth premium rates will go up from 2.75 percent in 2019 up to ice percent for 2024 and 2025. The premium rates are set to increase by four percent this coming June.

Following orders from Malacañang in January 2021, the hike in PhilHealth contributions weee suspended last year and collection remained at three percent.

Prior to this order, Villanueva filed Senate Bill 1968, mandating the suspension of the scheduled increase in PhilHealth contributions in the event of a public health emergency.

Villanueva said that the spirit of the Universal Health Care Law is not about enriching PhilHealth with increased premium rates, but it is about giving quality healthcare for Filipinos.

“PhilHealth is accountable to our workers who contribute their hard-earned money to pay the health premiums. This is also about our health workers and health care providers whose livelihoods also depend on PhilHealth fulfilling their responsibilities,” he explained.

Related Tags

philhealth contribution Universal Health Care Act PhilHealth joel villanueva
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.