Paying members of PhilHealth should receive benefits that match the contributions they regularly pay, Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said.
Recto said he will meet with PhilHealth officials next week to discuss expanding benefit packages for contributing members, particularly those in the middle class.
“Ayon sa batas, iba ang benefit package para sa kanila. Dagdagan natin ito,” Recto said.
The executive secretary acknowledged complaints from workers who pay thousands of pesos in annual premiums but feel they are not getting enough benefits in return.
“Naiintindihan ko ang reklamo ng ating mga kababayan sa PhilHealth. Halimbawa, kung ikaw ay empleyado at nagbabayad ng mahigit P30,000 hanggang P60,000 maximum contribution kada taon, P300 billion kada taon ang pondo na ginagastos ng PhilHealth. Kapag nagkasakit ang 10 milyon, samakatuwid ay P30,000 ang support value niyan,” he explained.
“So kung nagbayad ka (paying member) ng P50,000 to P60,000, ang indigent ay libre. Walang bayad. On the average, P30,000 dapat ang bayad, pero indigent ka, wala kang binayaran. So panalo ka. Kaya alam ko, yung mga nagbabayad, dapat taasan natin ang PhilHealth benefits,” Recto added.
The government implemented a zero-balance billing policy in public hospitals last year, allowing PhilHealth to fully cover medical expenses of qualified patients.IMT
