Employers Back Expansion of PhilHealth Benefits

THE Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECoP) said it supports the expansion of benefit packages for members of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth). In a statement on Monday, the group urged PhilHealth to provide additional and differentiated benefits to direct contributors. It also asked the government health insurer to remove the 24-hour confinement rule that strips coverage from discharged patients. PhilHealth must also ensure that “every peso paid by a working Filipino translates into real, accessible protection for that Filipino and their families,” it said. Direct contributors, which include employed workers, self-employed professionals, and employers paid P209 billion in premiums last year. However, contributors only availed of P121 billion in claims, equivalent to 42% of the P289.2 billion in claims that PhilHealth processed in 2025. About 58% or P167.9 billion were reimbursements for indirect members. Republic Act No. 11223 or the Universal Health Care Act classifies PhilHealth members into direct and indirect contributors. At a 5% premium rate, direct contributors are required to pay a monthly contribution ranging from P500 to P5,000, depending on their basic salary. Indirect contributors and their dependents refer to whose premiums are subsidized by the National Government, such as senior citizens, persons with disability, indigents, Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiaries, and those without the capacity to pay. ECoP said that PhilHealth risks losing public trust if its members do not reap the benefits of their contributions. “A system that consistently takes more from those who contribute while giving them proportionally less is one that will eventually lose the trust — and the compliance — of the very people who sustain it,” it said. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz