Marikina City Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo filed House Resolution 1595, which temporarily suspends PhilHealth premium contributions for at least a year for all minimum wage earners, whether employed or self-employed.
Quimbo, senior vice chair of the House committee on appropriations, proposed this measure as a way of providing immediate financial relief to the country’s economically vulnerable workers. She also noted that PhilHealth has billions in unused funds.
In 2022, Congress appropriated P80 billion to subsidize the premiums of indigent families, senior citizens, and persons with disability to PhilHealth, but it failed to spend P24 billion of the said amount. In 2023, PhilHealth also had P39 billion unspent funds out of its P79 billion allocation.
“The unspent premium of PhilHealth can very well cover the premium contributions of minimum wage earners for at least a year since in 2022 their premium contribution only amounted to P19.6 billion,” Quimbo explained.
She noted that the unspent funds, originally designated for the health coverage of senior citizens and the poorest segments of the population, highlight an opportunity to redirect resources temporarily to alleviate the financial burden on minimum wage earners.
Quimbo’s resolution also seeks to reassess PhilHealth’s benefit packages and the premium contribution rates as provided by the Universal Health Care Law. Moreover, this aligns with the national government’s goal of expanding social protection, particularly to all minimum wage earners.
The temporary suspension of premium contributions of minimum wage earners increases disposable income, offering an average monthly wage boost of about PHP 400 in the NCR for non-agricultural workers.
It is also aligned with Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez’s advocacy for PhilHealth to offer HMO-like benefits, according to Quimbo. It aims to make healthcare spending more efficient and rational, potentially leading to more sustainable PhilHealth contributions and government appropriations.
