PHILIPPINE Health Insurance Corp. members must now shoulder a 0.25-percent increase in premium contributions starting January 2018, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Friday.
He said member contributions would now be 2.75 percent from the 2.5-percent contribution rate.
He said the computation was based on a member’s monthly basic pay, according to PhilHealth Circular 2017-0024, signed last Oct. 11.
The increase will double the actuarial life of the PhilHealth fund to eight-and-a-half years from four-and-a-half years, Duque told a forum in Manila.
Covered by the adjustment are members employed in the formal economy, including kasambahays, family drivers, and sea-based Overseas Filipino Workers, and all employers in the government and private sector.
The PhilHealth circular also states the contributions are now computed, based on a salary floor of P10,000 and ceiling of P40,000, as follows:
P275.00 for those making P10,000 and below per month, or P137.50 each from the member and employer
P275.02 to P1,099.99 for those earning P10,000.01 to P39,999.99 per month, or P137.51 to P549.99 each from the member and employer
P1,100 for those earning P40,000 and above per month, or P550 each from the member and employer
For a kasambahay or household help, the member’s contribution “shall be shouldered solely by the household employer” in line with the Domestic Workers Act, unless the member is receiving a salary of P5,000 and above in which case he or she would have to pay the proportionate share.
More than a third or P50 billion of the Department of Health’s P165-billion budget for 2018 has been allotted to fund PhilHealth, Duque noted.
PhilHealth has a national coverage of 90 to 92 percent.
Majority of those not covered by PhilHealth benefits are in “geographically disadvantaged areas,” or far-flung or remote areas or barangays.