PhilHealth to implement premium rate adjustment starting June 2022
CEBU CITY, Philippines – In the absence of new legislation, the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) is set to implement the four percent premium rate adjustment for its direct contributors next month.
The Central Visayas office of the state health insurer, in a statement released on Friday, May 20, said the premium rate for direct contributors for the year 2022 was set at four percent for those earning a floor income of P10,000 per month and a income ceiling of P80,000 effective January 20, 2022.
However, its implementation which is provided for Section 10 of Republic Act 11223 also known as the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act that was signed into law in February 2019, was put on hold because of the pandemic.
In January 2021, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered PhilHealth to halt the execution of premium rate adjustments due to the declaration of a state of public health emergency.
“Recognizing the plight of many Filipinos during this epidemic, PhilHealth postponed the introduction of the 3.5 percent premium rate until 2021, instead supporting congressional efforts to pass legislation giving the President the authority to delay increases during national catastrophes,” PhilHealth-7 said in a statement.
With the lapse of the grace period, PhilHealth is now poised to start the collection of the increased premium starting this June.
Collections will be retroactive from January 2022.
“With no legislation yet in sight, PhilHealth is resuming the implementation of the premium rate this year as mandated by the UHC Law,” read portions of the PhilHealth-7 statement.
The agency said their collections systems, particularly the EPRS and the Member Portal for self-paying members, are now ready for the adjusted payments and remittances.
EPRS stands for Electronic Payment and Reporting System which is being used by employers in remitting and reporting their employees’ contributions.
“Payment of the one percent differential for the paid periods (referring to January to May 2022) may be settled by employers and self-paying members until December this year,” the PhilHealth statement read.
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