PhilHealth Premium Computation Guidelines

Section 16 (Rates of Premium Contributions) of the Revised IRR of the National Health Insurance Act of 2013 provides that members in the formal economy continue paying monthly contributions shared equally by the employer and employee.
Section 16 further provides that the premium rate is prescribed by the Corporation not exceeding five percent (5%) of their respective monthly basic salaries.
Section 3(fff) of the Revised IRR defines Salary as the basic monthly compensation paid regularly for services rendered.
The circular provides clarificatory guidelines specifically for how premiums are computed for members under the formal economy.

The circular clarifies the computation of premium by defining and excluding specific items from the employee’s monthly basic salary (MBS) used for premium computation.
The circular establishes that MBS is the fixed basic rate of an employee used for monthly premium computation.
The circular ties MBS computation for daily-wage and other workers to established statutory monetary benefit computations consistent with the 2010 Edition of the Department of Labor and Employment–Bureau of Working Conditions Handbook on Workers’ Statutory Monetary Benefits.
The circular requires mandatory employer registration to ensure premiums are remitted according to prescribed rates.

The circular provides that Monthly Basic Salary (MBS) means the fixed basic rate of an employee.
MBS excludes sales commission, overtime pay, allowances, thirteenth month pay, bonuses, or other gratuity payments.
MBS also excludes deductions to the employee due to undertime, tardiness, leave(s) without pay, absences, or other similar circumstances.
For monthly-paid and daily-paid employees, MBS is computed based on the estimated Equivalent Monthly Rate (EMR) using the applicable rules stated in the circular.

For daily-wage workers with a six-day work week schedule, who do not work and are not considered paid on Sundays or rest days, MBS is computed as: MBS = (Applicable Daily Rate × 313) / 12.
The circular defines 313 days/year for the six-day work week computation as 299 ordinary working days, 11 regular holidays, and 3 special holidays.
For daily-wage workers with a five-day work week schedule, who do not work and are not considered paid on Saturdays and Sundays or rest days, MBS is computed as: MBS = (Applicable Daily Rate × 261) / 12.
The circular defines 261 days/year for the five-day work week computation as 247 ordinary working days, 11 regular holidays, and 3 special holidays.

The circular provides that the daily rate for workers paid by results—including home workers and workers paid on piece rate, takay, pakyaw, or task basis—must be not less than the prescribed minimum wage rates under the Regional Wage Order for normal working hours.
The circular requires that the normal working hours used for this purpose must not exceed eight (8) hours a day, or a proportion thereof.
The circular provides that the monthly rate for these workers is computed based on the five-day or six-day work schedule, depending on the schedule of operations of the business establishment.

The circular requires that all government and private employers register their employees and their qualified dependents.
Employers must register by submitting a list of their employees complete with their salary base and other documents as may be required.
The circular provides that no exemptions will be granted from this requirement.
The circular establishes this mandatory disclosure to ensure that employers remit employees’ premiums in accordance with the prescribed rates.

The circular provides that PhilHealth Circular No. 32, s-2003 remains in effect for employees with no earnings due to a lengthy leave without pay for more than six (6) months.

The circular provides that all issuances inconsistent with PhilHealth Circular No. 2018-0001 are repealed or modified accordingly.

The circular requires that it be deposited thereafter with ONAR of the University of the Philippines Law Center following its publication.
The circular sets its effective date based on publication and corresponding fifteen (15) days period.