The premium rate of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) is now at five percent. This was the declaration of PhilHealth President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Emmanuel Ledesma, saying no less than Malacañang had posed no objection to such an increase in its premium rate for 2024.
In a press conference, Ledesma on Friday, January 23, 2024, said he was able to receive a letter from Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, saying that they 'pose no objection' to the premium rate hike. 'We wrote a letter to them seeking guidance, and they said they pose no objection to the increase,' said Ledesma. He said one reason is because PhilHealth is merely implementing the provisions of the Universal Health Care Act. 'It's in the law and we are only implementing the law,' said Ledesma. He also said that the increase must push through since they have started implementing the five percent premium rate. 'Since January 1, we informed them (Malacañang) that we have already implemented the increase,' Ledesma said