PHILHEALTH to members: File complaints over non-remittances

CEBU, Philippines - Officials of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) in Cebu City yesterday encouraged the private workers to file complaints before them if they find that their employers failed to remit the amount deducted from their salaries for their insurance premiums.

PhilHealth 7 Information Officers Mabeth Elias and Dina Cinches appeared during the Kapihan sponsored by the Public Information Agency (PIA) yesterday and discussed their projects that will benefit the PhilHealth members.

The law requires all employers to enroll their employees with PhilHealth, the government health insurance system created to ensure that members would get assistance when they experience health problems, particularly during confinement in hospitals.

Usually, PhilHealth shoulders about 1/3 or more of a member’s hospital bill. The amount varies, depending on the categories of the hospitals where they are confined.

Elias said once the PhilHealth will receive the complaint it will be referred immediately to the collection section. The concerned employer will be asked to settle the complaint by remitting the premiums of their workers.

According to Elias and Cinches, if the concerned employers fail to settle their obligations, the matter will be forwarded to the PhilHealth’s legal division for the filing of appropriate charges against the violators.

The FREEMAN earlier received complaints from several security guards that their agency deducted from their salaries amount for PhilHealth premiums, but the agency did not remit the collections to the government’s insurance system.

Elias and Cinches, though, failed to provide statistics on how many employers have violated the law by not remitting the premiums of their employees and how many employers were charged before the courts. –(FREEMAN)