President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered PhilHealth to make the payment OFW Philhealth premiums voluntary, Malacañang said Monday.
“Una sa lahat, ipinapaalam po namin sa inyo na nagissue ng direktiba ang Presidente sa PhilHealth para gawing boluntaryo po ang pagbabayad ng mga OFWs ng PhilHealth premiums,” Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in an online press briefing.
(First of all, we would like to inform you that the President already ordered directive to Philhealth to make the payment of premiums for OFWs voluntary.)
Philippine Health Insurance Corporation issued the new OFW Philhealth contribution on April 14, 2020, entitled “Premium Contribution and Collection of Payment of Overseas Filipino Members.”
The said circular made OFW Philhealth contribution mandatory for all OFWs including land-based OFWs, seafarers and other sea-based workers, Filipinos with dual citizenship (RA 9225), Filipinos living abroad, Overseas Filipinos in distress, and other overseas Filipinos not previously classified elsewhere.
It mandates OFWs with monthly salaries between P10,000 and P60,000 will be deducted PhilHealth contribution of 3%, up from 2.75% in 2019.
The monthly premium will increase by 0.5 percentage points every year afterward until it reaches 5% by 2024.
OFWs are classified as direct contributors under the Universal Health Care Law, and therefore, payment and remittance of premium contributions are mandatory, the circular stated.
Aside from the increase, members who will fail to pay the premium after the due date set by the Corporation shall be required to pay all missed contributions with monthly compounded interest.
Duterte orders to make OFW Philhealth premiums voluntary
“Alinsunod po dito, inanuunsyo na po ni Secretary Duque ng Department of Health na sinususpinde po niya ang Item 10 2 (c) ng implementing rules and regulations ng universal health care na nag papataw na mas mataas na kontributsyon habang tayo po ay may problema sa COVID-19,” he added.
(Accordingly, Department of Health Secretary Duque has announced the suspension of Item 10 2 (c) of the implementing rules and regulations of the universal health care that imposes a higher contribution rate while we are still dealing with the COVID-19 crisis.)
About 400,000 individuals also have signed in the online petition to scrap the new OFW PhilHealth contribution rate.
Over 100 Filipino migrant groups across the globe also oppose the increased premium. They said the new rate “overburdens OFWs who are already troubled by retrenchments and loss of income due to the COVID-19 pandemic and recession.”
They also said many OFWs “are not even covered” by the national government’s social amelioration program.