By JOHN CARLO M. CAHINHINAN
Gabriela Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas has accused leadership of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) using Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) as their own milking cows for insisting on the hefty mandatory premium payments of their contributions.
PhilHealth issued a Circular 2020-014 last April 2 which reiterates the new hefty three percent premium rate this year for its direct contributors—including OFWs, from the 2.75 percent in 2019.
For an OFW earning around P27,000 per month, the three percent premium rate amounts to nearly P10,000 for 12 months.
“Bakit gagatasan pa rin ng PhilHealth ang mga OFWs sa harap ng pandemya gayong sinabi nito mismo na may P97-billion reserve funds ito at net income na P11 billion noong 2018? It has the audacity to collect and collect when OFWs hardly benefitted from it in the face of COVID-19,” said Brosas.
According to Brosas, OFWs are already burdened with work adjustments and income losses amid the COVID-19 pandemic and yet, the state-owned insurance firm “wants to make them its milking cow” with its insistence on the hefty three percent premium rate plus interest for missed payments.
Brosas said she will file a resolution seeking a review of the Universal Healthcare Law, which mandates the PhilHealth new premium rate—with the goal of repealing the mandatory contributions of OFWs.
The Gabriela solo stressed this pandemic should make Filipino realize that “healthcare and social protection programs should be funded sufficiently by the national government and not corporatized like under the current contribution system.”
“Dagdag na budget sa kalusugan at social protection, hindi dagdag kaltas sa bulsang butas ng mga manggagawa,” said Brosas.
“Talagang hindi virus kundi kahirapan at patung-patong na kaltas ang ikamamatay ng ating mga kababayan,” she added.
Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)
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