THE regulator for state-owned firms has ordered the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to submit an analysis of how a hike suspension will affect its financial standing and operations.
The Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG), which oversees government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs), “strives to ensure that the GOCC sector, in this case PhilHealth, is fully compliant with the President’s directives,” the commission’s Chairman Alex L. Quiroz said in a statement on Thursday.
The GCG said that the requested data will be used as an additional resource for evaluating PhilHealth’s performance.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. suspended the scheduled hike in public health insurance contributions this year amid rising prices and socioeconomic challenges.
PhilHealth was set to increase its premium rate to 4.5% from 4% to help fund the Universal Health Care Act.
By law, the premium rate should increase by 0.5 percentage points yearly starting from 3% in 2020 until it hits 5%.
The Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG Fund, a government provider of mortgages, earlier this week confirmed that it is also not hiking its members’ contributions this year. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson
