Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 29) — Lawmakers have filed a House bill seeking to give President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. the authority to suspend the increase in premiums of Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).
House Speaker Martin Romualdez led the filing of House Bill 6772 on Jan. 13 to amend Section 10 of Republic Act 11223 or the Universal Health Care Act.
The bill’s co-authors are Majority Leader Manuel Jose “Mannix” Dalipe, Senior Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Alexander Marcos, and Tingog Party-list Reps. Yedda Marie Romualdez, and Jude Acidre.
Their proposed amendment will allow the president, upon recommendation of the PhilHealth board, to “suspend and adjust the period of implementation of the scheduled increase of premium rates during national emergencies or calamities, or when public interest so requires.”
“Suspending the imposition of the new PhilHealth premium rates will provide a much-needed relief during national emergencies or calamities and will assure Filipinos that the government is sensitive to their sentiments in this difficult time,” according to the bill’s explanatory note.
Section 10 of RA 11223 provides a table of scheduled premium rate increases from 2019 to 2025. For 2023, the premium rate is set at 4.5%, with an income floor of P10,000 and an income ceiling of P90,000.
According to PhilHealth, direct contributors are “those who have the capacity to pay premiums, are gainfully employed and are bound by an employer-employee relationship, or are self-earning, professional practitioners, migrant workers, including their qualified dependents, and lifetime members.”
Earlier this month, Marcos ordered the suspension of the government insurer’s new premium contribution rates and income ceiling for 2023.
