(Photo: PhilHealth/Facebook)
MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to postpone the increase in premium rates and income ceilings scheduled to take effect in 2023.
The Office of the President directed the postponement of a planned increase in the PhilHealth premium rate from 4% to 4.5%. It also postponed raising the income cap for members paying the maximum contribution from P80,000 to P90,000.
"In light of the prevailing socioeconomic challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to provide financial relief to our countrymen amidst these difficult times, please be informed that the President has directed the PhilHealth to suspend the above mentioned increase in premium rate and income ceiling for Calendar Year 2023, subject to applicable laws, rules, and regulations."
the document stated, signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin.
PhilHealth previously argued that the impending 4.5-percent increase in premiums would enable the state-run insurance corporation to sustain the benefits currently enjoyed by its members. The Universal Healthcare (UHC) law mandates increases in member premiums by 0.5 percent every year, starting in 2021, until it reaches its 5-percent limit in 2025.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government also halted the premium contribution hikes in 2020 and 2021.
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