Premium hike: Philhealth welcomes feedback

This is in reaction to the news item titled “OFWs buck hike in Philhealth rate.”

(Inquirer, 12/21/11)  Allow us to address the key points raised by OFW organizations in the news item.

On the timing of the increase. We believe that there is no better time to implement the increase in premium across all paying member-categories than next year, given that we have not had any increase in premium rates since 2007. As far as the overseas Filipino workers are concerned, the annual rate of P900 has been in place since we took over the Medicare program from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) in 2005. Over the last four years, we have launched several new benefit packages without any increase in premium contribution rates. The new packages were available to all members, including OFWs and their legal and qualified dependents, at no additional cost to them, despite the inflation rates that the domestic economy had to deal with.

In our desire to fully achieve the objectives of Universal Health Care, we need to have adequate resources to work on. Right now, we are fast-tracking efforts to deliver better benefits that will provide better financial protection to our members, i.e., to assign each one of them to a primary care provider through which preventive and diagnostic services can be availed of.

On the alleged lack of consultations. The planned increase had been extensively discussed and debated on by our board of directors where the OFW sector is adequately represented. We shall continue organizing roundtable discussions with our key stakeholders regarding this increase in premium contributions to address whatever other issues they may have on the matter.

On the nature of fees. Based on our legal opinion, the premium contributions to the National Health Insurance Program (NHIP) are not considered fees since these are not payments being made by our members for transaction charges or administrative costs related to their membership coverage. These are payments for premium contributions that signify protection for their own health care.

On the need for massive information campaign. In the coming days, we are going full-blast with our information dissemination efforts regarding the increase in premium, particularly among OFW members who are set to leave the country by Jan. 1, 2012. We will intensify our information drive during the phasing-in period to ensure that all issues are addressed prior to the full implementation of the new rates by July next year.

We welcome feedback from our OFW stakeholders, that is why we initiated a meeting on Dec. 20. Rest assured that we are open to more discussions on this matter, in the spirit of transparency and smooth implementation of our new policy. Please join us in our battle cry to attain universal health care: “Bawat Pilipino, miyembro. Bawat miyembro, protektado. Kalusugan natin, segurado.”

—GREGORIO C. RULLODA,

vice president, Corporate Affairs Group,

Philippine Health Insurance Corp.,

Citystate Centre,

709 Shaw Blvd., Pasig City