A teachers’ group on Tuesday, Jan. 3, backed the administration’s decision to suspend the scheduled Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) premium contribution increase for the calendar year 2023.
A memorandum released by the Office of the President on Monday evening cited the prevailing “socioeconomic challenges” brought by the pandemic as a driving force to suspend the measure.
“Our teachers were really burdened by last year’s premium rate hike from 3 percent to 4 percent as it affected a significant reduction on our take home pay,” said Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines Chairperson Vladimer Quetua.
While the suspension of the scheduled contribution hike was welcomed by the group of educators, ACT called on the administration to also “suspend the remaining scheduled increases” of PhilHealth.
“Paying higher premiums will never be acceptable to members until PhilHealth services have significantly improved, fund management is straightened and its officials are made accountable,” said Quetua.
Previously, the Department of Health (DOH) explained that the premium contributions collected by PhilHealth are used for the purposes of “financing the expansion of benefit” in accordance with the Universal Health Care Law.