6.1M senior citizens to get automatic PhilHealth coverage after PNoy signs law

MANILA, Philippines — More than six million senior citizens will be granted automatic coverage by the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. under a law signed last week by President Benigno Aquino III, Senate President Pro-Tempore Senator Ralph Recto said Tuesday.

Under Republic Act 10645, “magpakita lang sila ng ID bilang patunay na sila’y senior citizen at matatanggap na nila mula sa ospital ang karampatang benepisyong laan sa mga miyembro ng Philhealth (they just need to show their IDs to prove they are senior citizens and they can receive from a hospital all the benefits granted to Philhealth members),” Recto, main author of the law, said.

The new law is also called “An Act Providing for the Mandatory PhilHealth Coverage for All Senior Citizens, Amending for the Purpose RA 7431, as Amended by RA 9994, Otherwise Known as the ‘Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010’.”

“Health insurance can never be called universal if it does not cover all seniors. Enrolling them must be automatic, not optional. The ideal is that the minute they blow out the candles on their 60th birthday cake to the moment they breathe their last, they should be PhilHealth members,” Recto said.

There are approximately 6.1 million senior citizens — those 60-years old and older — in the country today.

As of December 2013, PhilHealth has 31.27 million registered members and 45.63 million dependents, or a total of 76.9 million Filipino.

Last year, PhilHealth reported an income of P62 billion from premium contributions on top of the P12.612-billion subsidy it received from the national government, while disbursing P55.559 billion in benefits payment. –Ernie Reyes, InterAksyon.com