4.7 million poor families to get free PhilHealth

Some 4.7 million Filipino families are set to benefit from the “Pnoy PhilHealth day” that aims to provide health insurance coverage to “true” indigents in the country after they were evaluated and identified by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Department of Health (DoH) Secretary Enrique T. Ona said the Proxy Means Test conducted by the DSWD determined the true indigents in the country.

“This was done to avoid politicizing the giving out of cards in this sponsored program. The truly poor will be sponsored by the government,” Ona said in a press briefing at the DoH compound in Manila on Tuesday.

Ona explained that the sponsorship for PhilHealth is shared by the national government and the local government. The monthly contribution for PhilHealth amounts to P100. For the indigents, P50 will be provided by the national government and the remaining P50 will be paid for by the local government.

“In keeping with President Aquino’s promise to give each and every Filipino access to quality healthcare in three years time, your PhilHealth will open its doors across the country to reach out to the very poor Filipinos identified through the National Household Targeting System-Proxy Means Test (NHTS-PMT) of Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and considered as true indigents,” Ona added.

The present administration aims to provide PhilHealth coverage to the whole Philippine population within three years. Ona, who is the current PhilHealth chairman, has organized a multi-sectoral task force that will move towards this objective.

The task force is made up of the DoH, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), DSWD, and the Department of Education (DepEd).

Ona said the DILG will help engage the local chiefs to enroll indigents in their localities while DepEd will create PhilHealth desks in all public schools to encourage students and their parents to register and become PhilHealth members.

Filipino citizens aged 21 and above and non-members of the program are qualified for the program. It is also open to Filipinos 18 to 20 years old who are qualified, existing contributors who are still unregistered, and those who are not yet issued a PhilHealth number card or Family Health card yet. Those who are already registered but who may want to update their membership profile are also welcome to participate in the Pnoy PhilHealth Day set tentatively on September 18.

There are 17 PhilHealth regional offices and nearly 100 service offices in many localities. –JENNY F. MANONGDO, Manila Bulletin