Philhealth Eyes 100% Coverage for Soccsskargen Before Yearend

The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) is seeking to complete this year the coverage of the estimated 4.8 million residents of Region 12 or Soccsksargen into the government’s health insurance program.

Engr. Eugenio Donatos, PhilHealth-12 field operations chief, said Thursday they have so far covered about 97 percent or nearly 4.7 million of the region’s population. He added that enrollment is ongoing for households that have not yet accessed the program.

Donatos said they are currently targeting to expand their coverage to over 100,000 residents in the coming months.

“That’s more or less 20,000 members that we should enroll and we’re hoping to realize that before the end of this year,” he said in an interview over a local television show.

The agency’s enrollment target covers both prospective direct contributors or paying members and indirect contributors or sponsored program members.

The direct contributors are the employed, voluntary or self-employed and overseas workers while those under the indirect category are the indigents and members of the government’s conditional cash transfer (CCT) program.

PhilHealth-12 has automatically renewed this year the membership of around 121,000 CCT beneficiaries.

Donatos said they are continually enrolling the new members through the Point-of-Care service facilities in local hospitals.

He said the move aims to ensure that no one would be left out, especially the poor, from the health insurance program.

Of the region’s 4.8 million population, around two million indigent residents are covered by the sponsored program based on the National Household Targeting System of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. (PNA)