Wednesday, June 18, 2008 House approves bill requiring PhilHealth for house helpers By Ben O. Tesiorna
THE House of Representatives approved the bill that requires all house helpers to be provided with PhilHealth coverage by their employers.
House Speaker Prospero Nograles said on Monday that they have approved House Bill 1979 entitled "An Act Requiring the Mandatory Coverage of All House helpers in the National Health Insurance Program under the National Health Insurance Corporation."
He said the bill seeks to uplift the minimum standard of living of all house helpers by requiring their mandatory membership in the NHIP under PhilHealth.
"We should never discriminate against house helpers, considering the very significant role they play in nation building," Nograles said as he commended principal author, Representative Carmen Cari (5th District, Leyte), for her "genuine pro-labor" initiative.
Under present laws, only private employees or laborers receiving a minimum wage of P1,000 a month are covered by PhilHealth insurance. It excludes from coverage house helpers who are paid less than P1,000 for membership in the Social Security System (SSS) and subsequently, from PhilHealth coverage.
"This discrepancy runs counter to the mandatory and compulsory coverage of all citizens of the Philippines in the program as required by law," Nograles said.
Under HB 1979, which was approved by the House before its sine die adjournment last June 11, stated that all house helpers receiving a minimum wage of less than P1,000 a month is mandated to be enrolled by their employers in the program who should shoulder the required contributions to PhilHealth.
Nograles said the proposed Act seeks to eliminate the decades-old grave discrimination against the lowly but very significant sector of the labor force, by protecting their rights and privileges as workers and upholding their dignity as human beings.
HB 1979 would ensure quality health care services that are affordable, acceptable, available, and accessible for the house helpers, Cari said, adding that penalties for non-compliance by employers are to be dealt with under RA 7875 and other pertinent laws.
Nograles noted that even as the present PhilHealth law was really intended to cover all citizens, under the SSS Law, only those house helpers receiving at least P1,000 a month are covered and entitled to all benefits provided by law.
The National Health Insurance Act of 1995 (RA 7875) also provides that all employees in the private sector covered by the SSS are immediately and automatically made members of the NHIP.
He also noted that under RA 7655, otherwise known as "An Act increasing the minimum Wage of House helpers," a house helper in Metro Manila and in highly urbanized cities receives a minimum of P800 a month and a minimum of P500 a month for those in other municipalities.
