The Philippine Health Corp. (PhilHealth) is requiring employers to submit a Statement of Premium Accounts (SPA) before accepting premium contributions starting July 1 of this year.
In line with PhilHealth Circular 2016-0008 issued on June 4, PhilHealth will replace its premium payment slips with the SPA for the filing of employer contributions. This is generated through employer accounts using the Electronic Premium Remittance System (EPRS) of PhilHealth.
The new policy enables accredited collecting agents (ACAs) to ensure all premium payments of employers, whether delayed or on time and with interest, surcharges or none, shall be supported by an SPA. Only the amount due as stated in the SPA shall be accepted. Underpayment or overpayment is not permitted.
The SPA number will serve as the ACAs’ reference when accepting premium payments. “We are calling on our partner-employers to be EPRS-compliant now. This system spells convenience for them where remitting and reporting their premium contributions are concerned,” Alexander A. Padilla, PhilHealth president and CEO, said.
The elimination of the manual system of updating employers list, premium remittance and reporting of employees’ contributions to PhilHealth is what the EPRS was designed for.
A newer version of the EPRS had been implemented, which gives real-time posting of member payments, ease of updating employee records and enables employers to remit their premium contributions online.
The online payment facility is available through Security Bank’s DigiBanker and made available soon to other banks, as well. The EPRS is mandated under PhilHealth Circular 004-2015 since April 2015.
Payments made within July are for the June 2016 premium contributions of employees and the employer counterpart amounts.
All employers, including national government agencies using the Electronic Payment System, such as the e-Gov facility for payments and contributions, are advised to immediately coordinate with their PhilHealth Accounts Management Specialists or to visit the PhilHealth office to register and be oriented with the EPRS.