William Chavez, assistant vice president for Philhealth Central Visayas said that out of this figure, 32,349 indigent family members are covered under the Philhealth program of Governor Gwendolyn Garcia in partnership with the component cities and municipal mayors.
Three component cities and 38 municipalities have enrolled indigent families through the LGU special premium rate program of Philhealth.
Under this program, Philhealth and the local government unit signed a memorandum of agreement wherein a discounted premium rate is given to the LGU concerned and Philhealth subsidizes the rest of the premium.
Garcia has distributed Philhealth cards to 32,349 indigent families that have 75,823 dependents.
The province of Cebu has spent P7.7 million for premium payments good for one year and subject for renewal.
Chavez said most of the indigent families have enrolled under the Medicare Para sa Masa program of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office since 2004.
Aside from Cebu, the Central Visayas region has 300,000 indigent families covered by Philhealth, said Chavez. - Gregg M. Rubio