Brace for the ‘Philhealth storm’
After an announcement made by the regional wage board of an increase in wages this June 2022, businesses and even employees will have to brace for another challenge in their finances as Philhealth is set to implement an increase in contribution rates from 3.5% to 4.0%.
A 0.5% increase in contribution may appear as negligible to some well-paid workers, but to those earning minimum wage the impact on their take home pay may already be substantial.
The additional premium contribution scheduled to be collected this month is retroactive January 2022. Members and employers who have already paid under the old rate of 3% are advised to settle the 1% differential until December 31, 2022.
According to PhilHealth officials, the increase is mandated by the Universal Healthcare Act that aims to cover even the poorest Filipinos via subsidies, a portion of the Health department’s budget, and collections from the tax on cigarettes and alcohol.
Despite the increase in premium contributions, Philhealth did not announce additional benefits that a member can avail in case of hospitalization since the increase is intended to finance the Universal Healthcare Act. Hence, the increase is additional burden to members and employers with no value-added to the paying members of our public health insurance system.
At the height of the pandemic, Philhealth was besieged with allegations ranging from corruption, fund misuse and failure to pay private hospitals COVID-19 claims on time.
On top of the foregoing issues, access to good healthcare remains a big challenge. There are still a lot of places in our country that lack hospitals that can offer complete services to the patients.
While the Universal Healthcare Act envisions a healthcare insurance for every Filipino, healthcare insurance becomes useless if the government fails to make quality health services accessible to all.