by Franklin P.
Gumapon
DIPOLOG CITY, June
8 (PIA) - - In keeping with its mandate, the Philippine Health Insurance
Corporation (PhilHealth) is now targeting all Filipinos to become members of its
health insurance program.
“President Aquino’s
challenge to us is to attain universal health care, so we want all Filipinos to
become members of PhilHealth,” said Dr. Eduardo P. Banzon, PhilHealth’s
President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in an interview with the Philippine
Information Agency (PIA) here recently.
Banzon also
disclosed that PhilHealth premium would be increased to P200 per month starting
July this year. But those who would like to avail themselves of the
P100-premium per month they should enroll this June and pay the corresponding
premiums.
The PhilHealth
President and Regional Vice President Romeo D. Alberto of PhilHealth-IX also
met with Zamboanga del Norte Governor Rolando E. Yebes, Dipolog Mayor Evelyn T.
Uy and Dapitan Mayor Patri B. Chan to get their commitments of enrolling
indigent families in PhilHealth under the “sponsored program.”
Alberto disclosed
that both Governor Yebes and Mayor Uy had committed to enroll 30 thousand and
five thousand indigent families under the LGU-sponsored program, respectively.
Presently,
Zamboanga del Norte has a total of 96 thousand indigent families enrolled under
the sponsored program including those covered by the “Pantawid Pamilya” program
of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
In a related
development, PhilHealth is also pushing for a “no balance billing policy” after
confinement of patient-members in hospitals to really help them out in their
medical and hospitalization needs.
PhilHealth also
urges government hospitals to observe the “no balance billing” especially among
indigent patients under the sponsored program.
Complaints are rife
that most hospitals are requiring the PhilHealth members to buy the medicines
from the drugstores outside instead of drawing the same from the hospital
pharmacy. (FPG/PIA-Zamboanga del Norte)
