Suspension of PhilHealth contributions sought for minimum wage earners

An economist-lawmaker from the House of Representatives has proposed to suspend the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) premium contributions of all minimum wage earners to increase their take-home pay.

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In House Resolution No. 1595, Marikina 2nd District Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo said that suspending the premium payment of minimum wage non-agriculture workers in the National Capital Region, for instance, would result in additional P400 increase in their daily salary.

“The PhilHealth contributions of minimum wage earners (should) be temporarily suspended pending a review of the expansion of PhilHealth benefits and reduction of their premium contributions,” Quimbo added.

She noted that PhilHealth could utilize its “unspent appropriations” for premium subsidies, thus providing “immediate financial relief to the country’s economically vulnerable workers.”

The resolution cited that in 2022, Congress allocated P80 billion to subsidize the premium of indigent families, senior citizens and persons with disability with PhilHealth.

The benefit claims for this sector, however, reached only P56 billion, resulting in a net flow of P24 billion.

Quimbo said that PhilHealth’s financial reserves were expected to reach P463 billion in 2023, marking a 68-percent increase from the previous year.

This surplus has accumulated from premiums collected from members, as well as subsidies from Congress that have remained unspent.