Lawmakers led by Speaker Lord Allan Velasco on Tuesday lauded President Rodrigo Roa Duterte for suspending the increase in PhilHealth premium contributions amid the COVID-19 crisis.
"The President has once again proved his sincere and genuine regard for the welfare of the Filipino people, especially in this time of pandemic," Velasco said in a statement.
Velasco also expressed readiness for the House of Representatives "to review the Universal Health Care Act and its Implementing Rules and Regulations, particularly the provisions on incremental premium rate hike for direct PhilHealth contributors."
"We urge PhilHealth and the Department of Health to work closely with the legislature to ensure that our citizens and hardworking Filipinos will not further be exposed to this unnecessary burden while still grappling with the pandemic," he added.
Deputy Majority Leader and Quezon City Rep. Alfred Vargas, for his part, thanked President Duterte for backing calls from various sectors to defer the increase in member contributions to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation.
“We wholeheartedly thank the President for his decision for the welfare of the Filipino people. With close to 11 million Filipinos losing their jobs during the pandemic and many others facing a precarious situation, an increase in contributions would be a heavy burden to bear,” Vargas, chair of the House Social Services Committee, said.
The state health insurer had announced that it would collect higher monthly premiums starting January 1, in compliance with Republic Act No. 11223, or the Universal Health Care Act.
Vargas added that his committee would be willing to assist PhilHealth find alternative means to fund its programs.
A premium hike, no matter its legality, “is not the way to go,” he said.
The solon also made the same appeal to the Social Security System, which is also set to increase its contribution rate from 12 percent to 13 percent this month.
The increase is pursuant to RA 11199, or the Social Security Act of 2018, which mandates an increase of one percentage point from the year of implementation until it reaches 15 percent in 2025.
Vargas said should legislation be needed to postpone the two insurers’ premium hikes, he is certain Congress will act with urgency, as it had in matters of public interest
“In the same light, we are also open to help SSS in exploring other ways to replenish their fund, rather than pass the burden to workers,” he said.
Over at the Senate, Senator Imee Marcos appealed to President Rodrigo Duterte to certify as urgent to amend the Universal Health Care Act, so that Philhealth contributions will not be increased this year.
“Good intentions need to be backed up by an amendment to the law,” Marcos said, after the President ordered that the payment of Philhealth premiums be postponed amid the financial difficulties wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Marcos added that billions of pesos in government loans can help plug revenue losses resulting from the postponement of contributions.
Marcos filed Senate Bill 1966 on Monday to postpone to 2022 the legal mandate of Philhealth to raise membership contributions by 0.5% this year to 3.5%.
Sen. Grace Poe has also filed Senate Bill No. 1968 that seeks to suspend the scheduled 3.5-percent increase this year in Philippine Health Insurance Corp. premium contributions.
Co-authors include Sens. Miguel Zubiri, Joel Villanueva, Nancy Binay and Sherwin Gatchalian.
“It’s simply inhumane to apply an increase in contributions for healthcare services when we are right in the middle of a health crisis, especially since there are many irregularities that PhilHealth hasn’t answered for yet,” Poe said.
A few months ago, PhilHealth was exposed for its alleged fraudulent and corrupt activities amounting to roughly P15 billion.
The Senate panel then found a long list of irregularities including the improper and illegal implementation of the Interim Reimbursement Mechanism and the gross overpricing and anomalous proposals in the procurement of the information technology system, just to name a few.
Under the UHC Act, Marcos said the same incremental 0.5% increase will be applied each year until 2025 when Philhealth contributions will reach 5% of members’ salaries.
Marcos noted that amending the law, passed in 2019 during the 17th Congress, will also solve the dilemma of Philhealth officials who were “duty-bound to implement the law but also must heed the call of the times.”
“They may be accused of dereliction of duty if they do not carry out their mandate under the existing UHC law,” Marcos said.
“Besides, what kind of service can we expect with the hike in Philhealth contributions? Give us reason to believe in Philhealth first, before increasing premiums yet again!” Marcos said, citing the corruption scandals that have plagued the agency.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon supports the President’s move to postpone the scheduled increase in Philhealth contributions.
But Drilon said a law must be crafted in order to suspend the mandated hike in members’ contributions.
"But we have to look for alternative funding by realigning items in the General Appropriations Act as the actuarial life of PhilHealth is in jeopardy,” Drilon said on Tuesday.
He recalled the statement made by an official of the state insurance agency that PhilHealth may “collapse” by 2022 as it continues to incur losses due to decreased collection amid the pandemic.
Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson said the deferment of the increase in PhilHealth contributions should allow the state insurer the needed time to rid itself of incompetence and corruption.
Lacson said the plan to increase premiums for PhilHealth members is very ill-advised especially due to the huge losses it incurred due to the two scourges..
PhilHealth was to start collecting higher contributions from its paying members this year, in line with the implementation of the Universal Health Care Law.
During the Senate hearings on corruption at PhilHealth that started last August, Lacson showed evidence indicating deep-rooted corruption in PhilHealth due to a "mafia," which was involved in the twisted implementation of the Interim Reimbursement Mechanism; questionable purchase of ICT equipment; and doctoring of financial statements.
Following the hearings, some key officials of PhilHealth quit their posts while others face charges before the Ombudsman. Former National Bureau of Investigation director Dante Gierran was named president-CEO of the state insurer.
Lacson also pushed for the augmentation of at least P8 billion more for the Department of Health to implement the Universal Health Care program via the Health Facilities Enhancement Program which needs at least P13 billion.
Meanwhile, Drilon said the government must throw a lifeline to PhilHealth. "We cannot afford to let PhilHealth continue operating on losses. If PhilHealth’s fund is not raised by way of substantial government intervention, its credibility to reimburse hospitals will be put into question,” he said.
He noted that the government subsidy PhilHealth for PhilHealth for 2021 is only P71 billion.
PhilHealth had said that it was expecting a net operating loss of P90 billion in 2020 and P147 billion in 2021, if the pandemic persists.
Drilon also pointed to the decrease in collection from the Sin Tax Law, a Drilon-authored law that funds the Universal Health Care Act.
The government projects the collections from sin tax products at P235 billion for 2020, lower than 2019’s actual collection of P269.1 billion.
Over the next five years, the UHC will need an aggregate state funding of P1.437 trillion, starting at P257.5 billion in its first year and gradually rising to P319.4 billion in 2024, Drilon noted.
Aside from government subsidy and direct payments, the funding for UHC is sourced from Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, whose operation is also affected by the pandemic.
Drilon earlier recommended developing and strengthening the actuarial capability of PhilHealth through the assistance of government institutions such as the Social Security System and the Government Service Insurance System.