Thousands of Filipinos in the UAE and overseas got agitated and furious with the recent announcements of PhilHealth stating that all overseas Filipinos are now required to pay 3 percent of their salaries per month for the mandatory coverage.
In the circular of the PhilHealth premium rate hike, it is stated that the amount of Php2,400, which used to be the annual payment for the said coverage, is now just an ‘initial payment’ for the rest of the amount that all overseas Filipinos are now mandated by law to pay for 2020 which is considered as the transitional year.
At the comments section of The Filipino Times’ story: “PhilHealth reiterates premium rate hike for OFWs amid calls for repeal of measure“, many Filipinos lashed out at PhilHealth for a seeming lack of empathy particularly during this time that many OFWs have just lost their jobs or are struggling to cope with the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Among the main reasons for OFWs’ refusal to pay is that they are already covered by the UAE’s health system.
One OFW stated that this is not a good time to raise this issue due to the COVID-19 impact with several Filipinos currently on a ‘No Work No Pay’ basis, and that payments should not be mandatory across all OFWs.
Some Filipinos also stated that they haven’t even benefitted from their payments at PhilHealth even if they have already paid for it dutifully for almost 20 years.
Filipinos also pointed out that while the government now mandates overseas Filipinos to pay, they also reminded the Philippine government that families of OFWs were allegedly left out of from the cash incentive program since they were abroad.
However, several OFWs also stated that the payments are for the welfare of OFWs and their family members in case they are in the Philippines and are in need of treatment.
