Benhur health card to cover private hospitals next year

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu fourth district Rep. Benhur Salimbangon is expanding his health program to private hospitals starting next year.

Salimbangon said fourth district residents can already avail of his “Benhur Health Card” even if they are confined in private hospitals.

At present, Salimbangon’s health program is only limited to government hospitals like Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical center, Severo Verallo Memorial District Hospital in Bogo and in the district hospitals of Daanbantayan and Bantayan Island.

According to Salimbangon, he wants to expand the program by tying-up with the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation so that cardholders can avail of the free medical services at any accredited private hospitals and clinics.

Salimbangon said that he is now tying-up with the Philhealth and the provincial government through Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia through the PhilHealth Indigency Program.

The Province of Cebu has been enrolling thousands of indigents from different local government units under the said program.

Salimbangon thanked Rep. Pastor Alcover Jr. of the Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy partylist for his plan to contribute to his health program.

Alcover wants to prioritize the constituents of the fourth district in his medical assistance program now that he is back in Congress.

This is in support to the hospitalization and medical assistance program of Salimbangon which Alcover found to be effective.

It was also in the fourth district where ANAD also got a huge number of votes as well as a lot of volunteers during the May 10, 2010 elections.

Salimbangon’s Benhur Health Program provides access to free hospitalization and medical assistance for almost all constituents in the fourth district.

With the card, a patient can avail of at least P3,000 for minor operations and hospital expenses and at most P10,000 for major surgeries.  (FREEMAN)