by Jocelyn P. Alvarez
ZAMBOANGA CITY, DEC. 12 (PIA 9) – - Some 20,000 recipients of the city government‘s PhilHealth insurance program were delisted as its beneficiaries starting 2012.
City Information Officer (IO) Sheila Covarrubias said “the new policy makes only those included in the list yielded from the National Housing Targeting System (NHTS) survey as eligible for the Philhealth sponsorship program.”
Covarrubias said the city government has made several requests for the reconsideration of the said 20,000 delisted, but the national government is bent on implementing the new policy.
“Mayor Lobregat has earlier sought reconsideration from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) through Secretary Jesse Robredo and the Department of Health (DOH) through Secretary Enrique Ona and Philhealth chief executive officer Dr. Rey Aquino on the new sponsorship policy. However, the government is bent on implementing the policy starting January 2012 nationwide,” Covarrubias explained.
The delisting was in view of the new policy on PhilHealth sponsorship involving local government units nationwide.
“The 20,000 beneficiaries expected to be affected by the new policy are part of the total 25,792 beneficiaries of the health insurance program in the city,” the active lady IO said.
“Only over 5,000 in the list of present beneficiaries are included in the NHTS survey conducted by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD),” she confirmed.
“To be affected are senior citizens, barangay officials, persons with disabilities, members of Rural Improvement Club, members of the media and other sectors that are included in the city’s PHILHEALTH program,” Covarrubias explained.
Covarrubias shared, “under the present program, each beneficiary is entitled to a one-year PhilHealth insurance for P1,200, of which the local government unit shoulders the P600 while the national government shoulders the remaining P600.”
Covarrubias said the NHTS survey was done in 2009 purposely to identify the poorest of the poor and the DOH, DILG and Philhealth are set to use the NHTS list in the national sponsorship program starting 2012.
The new policy is also to pave the way for the expansion of the 4 P’s program of the national government. (JPA/SCovarrubias/CIO/ PIA9)
