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The contribution rate hike, which started as 12 percent of the salary in 2019, will now amount to 15 percent of the salary in 2025.
Health advocates said that the transfer of unprogrammed funds violates Republic Act No. 11223 or the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act of 2019.
According to Section 11 of this law, any excess in PhilHealth reserve funds at the end of the fiscal year should be used to enhance program benefits and reduce member contribution amounts.
“While the people are paying high out-of-pocket expenses, [the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation or] Philhealth is earning so much profit that the Department of Finance wants to get the surplus funds for other unprogrammed expenses like Maharlika investment,” De la Paz said.
"We strongly urge the suspension of the Philhealth premium hike amid the soaring prices of basic goods, commodities and services. The hike has already caused the failure of payment of teachers' loans with their measly salaries barely sufficient for their daily needs following the implementation of the premium hike last June 15."
For Joshua San Pedro, co-convenor of the Coalition for People’s Right to Health, corruption will persist until a comprehensive public health care is established and there are no more gaps in social services that may be taken advantage of and profited from.
With the government’s inability to control the rise of COVID-19 cases in the country, community health advocates are up in arms over the government's response that, for the last 500 or so days, mainly resorted to stricter lockdowns.
It doesn’t take much imagination to picture some of President Rodrigo Duterte’s officials shaking their heads or slapping their foreheads and muttering “why on earth did he say that?” when their boss of bosses blurts out something patently absurd, incoherent, or...
Gierran himself admitted to media interviews of being “very scared” with the new tasks ahead as he does not know public health. Putting another retired military or NBI officials with little or no experience may put people’s lives in peril, according to CURE Covid.
"The widespread corruption in the government is the reason why OFWs are strongly against the planned mandatory PhilHealth and premium rate hike. OFWs cannot entrust the government that their hard-earned money will benefit their families and the rest of the Filipino people."
The alleged corruption issues came on the heels of an apparent lack of concrete plans of the government to curb the local transmission of the COVID-19, inadequate testing and contact tracing capacity, an overwhelmed health system, and the scant social protection for the poor and displaced workers.
This means that only those with mild pneumonia could be fully covered by Philhealth. Those with moderate, severe and critical pneumonia will have to shell out payments from their own pockets, ranging from 35 percent to 88 percent for an eight-day confinement. For severe and critical pneumonia, Philhealth will only cover nine percent to 21 percent of the total cost for a 16-day hospitalization.
Despite these scandals, Philhealth will still lead and manage the implementation of the Universal Health Care, and be entrusted to manage “humongous huge amount of money” from member premiums, public funding through the General Appropriations Act (GAA) and shares from PAGCOR and sin taxes.
The 2018 budget for public hospitals was cut by P1.5 billion.
“Risa Hontiveros was not even able to address a number of PhilHealth controversies, such as the protested case rates, glaring hospital and clinic reimbursements, increase in out-of-pocket health expenditure and millions worth of bonuses and perks given to PhilHealth executives.”
A recent IBON study among PhilHealth beneficiaries reveals how health services in the country have deteriorated and become more costly for the public
“From the start, Gabriela has been pushing to abolish Philhealth and to give its budget to hospitals directly for spending on medicines, supplies, and salaries of health workers. Now the public really sees no benefits from this agency, and taxpayers are even burdened with paying for the bonuses of its officials, as if we are rewarding them for their botched job performance.” – Gabriela Women’s Party Re. Emmi de Jesus
By BENJIE OLIVEROS Bulatlat Perspective What is legal may not necessarily be moral. Morality is about a code of conduct that is considered right and acceptable; it is about ethics; and ethics could be based on religious beliefs or a set of principles that a society...
Aside from the much-criticized fat bonuses at a time when the funds’ sustainability was supposedly in danger, thus requiring a hike in members' contributions, it turned out that the SSS executives have each been receiving $1,859 per month just for attending two board meetings, and its CEO flies abroad every two months, first-class.
“The growing dependence of the DOH on the role of PhilHealth for healthcare delivery manifests a very myopic approach to decades-old problems besetting the Philippine healthcare system.” – Network Opposed to Privatization
By SONNY AFRICA/IBON Foundation
In closing the 2012 SONA, President Aquino asked rhetorically: “Isn’t the agenda for change moving forward?” Unfortunately after two years, there is clearly no fundamental change and no systematic economic reforms taking place.
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