PhilHealth scales up coverage of indigent non-members

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) is scaling up the coverage of indigent non-members by providing them automatic enrolment when they are seen in hospitals managed by the Department of Health (DOH).

PhilHealth president and chief executive officer Alexander Padilla on Friday said that through the Point-of-Care Enrolment Program (POC), they hope to capture non-members who belong to Class C-3 or D confined in government hospitals.

Padilla said the program was also designed to benefit existing members who are not currently eligible to financial protection due to lack of qualifying contributions.

“This enrolment mechanism targets the poor who still comprise a significant portion of our society today. We have partnered with all DOH hospitals nationwide to implement the POC,” he said.

Qualified patients and their qualified dependents will be provided with PhilHealth coverage under the sponsored program.

Their premium contributions will be shouldered by the government facility, provided they are certified poor by the medical social worker at the time of admission.    

Padilla said the program will change the “traditional health-seeking behavior especially of the poor who opt to defer treatments because of lack of financial resources.”