Sen. Christopher ‘’Bong’’ Go said Thursday he would act as soon as possible on bills seeking to defer increased monthly contributions to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) when the Senate resumes regular session Monday.
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The Senate will speed up and prioritize bills postponing the scheduled increase of member contributions to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) this year.
Speaker Lord Allan Velasco
(Lord Allan Velasco’s Office / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
In separate bills filed before the House, Velasco proposed to amend provisions of Republic Act 11223 or the Universal Health Care Act and RA 11199 or the Social Security Act of 2018 that mandates gradual increases in monthly premium contributions of members.
“These are extraordinary times and Congress must respond accordingly,” Velasco said, as he called for swift approval of the two bills that both aimed at alleviating the financial burden faced by Filipino workers amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Under the bills, the President may, in consultation with the Secretaries of the Department of Health and the Department of Finance as chairpersons of PhilHealth and SSS, respectively, “suspend the implementation of the scheduled increases in premium rates in times of national emergencies when public interest so requires.”
The Philippines Red Cross (PRC) is urging the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to assign a point person or representative to the PRC to facilitate the validation of claims of members who are tested for COVID-19.