Social Protection-Philhealth

Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth) president and chief executive officer Dr. Eduardo Banzon yesterday said at least five million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their dependents are now covered by the state-run Philippine Health Insurance Corp.

THE Commission on Audit (COA) opined that the refund program of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) is a failure since only two percent of the total P142.39 million refundable money was returned.

PHILHEALTH has deferred the increase in the premium contributions of Filipino workers abroad as a result of the global economic crisis and the political instability in the Middle East, an official said on Saturday.

SENATOR Ralph Recto on Tuesday said he would be asking the Senate to investigate the doubling of the members’ contribution to the state-run Philippine Health Insurance Corp., which he said the agency planned to implement despite its huge cash reserves and generous budgetary support.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) has extended the coverage for over five million poor families nationwide.

An administration senator yesterday debunked claims made by Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) on the need to increase members’ contributions to bankroll expansion of services and benefit packages since the government has enormous cash reserves and huge subsidies.

THE head of state-run Philippine Health Insurance Corp. on Tuesday said the government had neutralized a syndicate that had been siphoning off as much as P100 million in premium payments.

MANILA, Philippines – Starting next week, millions of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) will pay twice the amount they are paying in insurance premiums to the state-owned PhilHealth Corp., Batangas Rep. Mark Llandro Mendoza revealed yesterday.

A senior member of the House of Representatives yesterday called on the Aquino administration to recall a decision by the Philhealth Corp. to make the cost of government health insurance restrictive to millions of overseas Filipino workers (OFW).

CEBU, Philippines –   Individuals applying for health insurance coverage under PhilHealth’s Overseas Workers Program (OWP) must be able to show proof of active status as OFW both upon registration and upon renewal of coverage.

STATE-RUN Philippine Health Insurance Corp. will double its members’ premiums to P2,400 annually by Jan. 1 next year from P1,200 now due to the higher benefits they now receive, company president and chief executive Eduardo Banzon said on Tuesday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) yesterday assured its members that taxes will not be imposed on their premium contributions.

Members of the state-run health care system may look forward to increased benefits without having to pay higher premium contributions than the prevailing rates.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) yesterday assured the public that there is no plan yet to increase its premium, particularly for those who are employed.

THE Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth) launched its new card that is loaded with benefits. The card entitles all PhilHealth members to discounts for medicines and other health services. Watson’s Pharmacy will give discounts for medicine and cosmetic products while Rose Pharmacy and SouthStar Drug will have discounts for its unbranded generic drugs. Qualifirst, a…

Sen. Franklin Drilon yesterday urged the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to tap its P90.7-billion reserve fund to settle the hospital claims amounting to P1.4 billion.

MANILA, Philippines – More than half of those who are aware of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) are satisfied with its services and benefits, according to the results of the second quarter Social Weather Station (SWS) nationwide survey. Conducted from June 3-6, the survey showed that 77 percent of respondents who were aware of…

CEBU, Philippines – Beginning this July 11, hospital confinements due to Influenza A (H1N1) virus will be paid as Case Type A based on PhilHealth’s inpatient benefit schedule instead of a benefit package.

No doubt, health care is now one of the biggest concerns of Filipinos given the high cost of medicines and hospitalization, not to mention doctors’ professional fees. So it’s not surprising that this would be high up in the current administration’s agenda.

THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION of a more rational and less burdensome healthcare system for all Filipinos is possible, and providing comprehensive and accessible health services to all Filipinos is bankable.

It’s an undeniable fact that there are so many poor people in our country. Just imagine, we have an estimated 5.2 million families with a monthly income of P3,460 or less per family. That’s a total of around 25 million Filipinos living in extreme poverty. The second group of 4.1 million families has an average…

The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) has missed the Dec 2010 target mandated by law for it to provide universal health coverage to Filipinos, as health experts say the agency is poorly managed and consequently unable to deliver quality health care to those who need it most.

CEBU, Philippines – The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) members in accredited hospitals nationwide will soon avail reimbursement for 22 common medical and surgical cases.

MANILA, Philippines—The state-run Philippine Health Insurance Corp. on Monday unveiled its own call center tasked to respond to inquiries of its members across the country.

CEBU, Philippines – Returning overseas Filipino workers are advised to update their PhilHealth premium payments to ensure continuous availment of benefits.

CEBU, Philippines – Effective January 1, 2011, PhilHealth will implement additional conditions on members’ eligibility to avail of benefits. These conditions are aimed at making benefits more responsive and safeguarding the funds from possible abuse to ensure the sustainability of the program.

The government will expand the number of beneficiaries and augment its health-related infrastructure on the back of excessive reserves of the state health insurer.

MATI, DAVAO ORIENTAL — The Health department is expanding health insurance coverage through a “zero payment” scheme for the poorest of the poor.

CEBU, Philippines – Retiring employees may now be automatically enrolled to the Lifetime Member Program without personally going to PhilHealth office.

THERE have been proposals to expand the coverage of state-run Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and increase the benefits to its members, but the Audit Commission says PhilHealth has not been collecting enough premium payments, and that the government alone owes it P8.89 billion in premium contributions for the years 2001 to 2008.