Region 8 gets ready for massive Philhealth registration on October 2

By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
September 13, 2010

TACLOBAN CITY  –  Preparations are ongoing for the October 2 massive Philhealth registration in Region 8, Department of Health Director Edgardo Gonzaga informed.

Director Gonzaga said that the nationwide registration is in response to President Benigno S. Aquino III’s marching orders to attain universal PhilHealth coverage in three years.

The Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC) in the Region will conduct the massive registration by setting up PhilHealth desks in public schools, municipal halls, all Philhealth offices and all DOH-retained hospitals region wide.

Among the Philhealth registration sites are two in Baybay, Leyte; one at the fifth class municipality of Sta. Fe, also in Leyte; one at the Tacloban Convention Center and another at Robinsons Place Tacloban.

Director Gonzaga said that the Department of Health and Philhealth have targeted the registration of 55,300 new members region-wide, especially the poor and the marginalized.

The regional health chief heads the task force, which is composed of the DOH, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Education (DepEd).

The DILG will help the DOH engage local chief executives in the enrolment of indigents in their respective jurisdictions as identified by the DSWD while DepEd will help create PhilHealth desks in all public schools to encourage students and their parents to register and become PhilHealth members.

The activity aims to enroll the remaining Filipino citizens who are at least 21 years of age and non-members of the program. It is also open to 18 to 20 year olds who may need to register; existing contributors who are still unregistered; those not issued their PhilHealth Number Card or Family Health Card yet; and those already registered but who may want to update their membership profile with PhilHealth.

The program mainly targets those from the self-employed and informal sector who comprise some 53 percent of the population and of which a substantial portion can afford to pay for health insurance as individually paying members (IPMs).