As part of its plans to expand benefits, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) announced on Tuesday, Nov. 28 that worker contributions will increase in 2024.
This was stated by PhilHealth Acting Vice President of the Corporate Affairs Group Rey Baleña in an interview with ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo Serbisyo.
“Batay sa schedule, kung ito ay masusunod, ang ating magiging contribution rate kada buwan ay five percent (Based on the schedule to be followed, our monthly contribution rate will be five percent),” Baleña said in response to questions about the extent of deductions from a worker's salary and employer’s contribution beginning January 2024.
This is a one percent increase from the four percent deduction being implemented since 2022.
"Sa kaso naman ng indirect contributors, ay ganun din. Five percent din ang ikakaltas na kargo lahat nya dahil wala syang employer (In the case of indirect contributors, it is the same. A five percent deduction will be imposed on their entire responsibility because they do not have an employer)," he explained.
"In exchange for this increased deduction, itinuloy natin 'yung implementation nang mga enhancement na nauna na without the benefit of an increase, nauna na 'yung expansion natin sa hemodialysis sessions, ginawa nating 156 sessions from 90 sessions ito (We continued the implementation of enhancements that were initiated earlier without the benefit of an increase. We have already expanded our hemodialysis sessions, increasing them from 90 to 156 sessions),” he added.
Baleña also shared that PhilHealth recently raised the coverage for acute stroke by over 100 percent and introduced a new outpatient mental health package.
"Recently, Sir Mandy Ledesma, our President and CEO, announced a comprehensive increase in all case rate packages. This is a broad enhancement that our members can anticipate starting in 2024," he said.
Furthermore, he emphasized that this increase in benefits and contribution is based on the Universal Health Care (UHC) Law, and that if the law is not amended, PhilHealth will follow this schedule.
Baleña also clarified that the annual increase in PhilHealth benefits has been in effect since 2019, with a suspension occurring only during President Duterte's term.
"The scheduled increase for the year 2023 has also been suspended by the directive of our President Bongbong Marcos," Baleña confirmed, indicating that the increase schedule was suspended twice.
Meanwhile, addressing concerns about corruption, Baleña assured that “we [will] manage our funds meticulously, and if there have been allegations of corruption in the past, we can assert that these remain as allegations."
He reassured PhilHealth members that the organization's funds are secured, protected, and stable.
"In fact, ito po ang basis sa pagtaas natin ng benefits. Kayang tustusan ng PhilHealth ang pagtaas ng benefits na mangyayari na soon at hinihintay na lang ang mechanics nito in the form of a circular (This serves as the basis for our increase in benefits. PhilHealth is capable of supporting the impending increase in benefits, and we are just waiting for the details in the form of a circular)," he said.