BACOLOD CITY, Philippines —The meeting between Negros Occidental officials and Dr. Eduardo Banzon, president and chief executive officer of PhilHealth, resulted in an agreement among mayors to retain the services of the health insurance agency, which offered an easier payment scheme for them.
Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. said Banzon offered to enter into a memorandum of agreement with the local government units, of which the mayors would register their indigent beneficiaries with PhilHealth for a two-year coverage, payable with only P600 upon registration, and the remaining P1,800 at the end of 2013.
Banzon said that while the membership of the 146,261 PhilHealth members in Negros Occidental expired on December 30, he will ask the PhilHealth Board for an authority to allow their health care coverage to be extended for another three months to give the LGUs enough time to enter into MOAs with them on the new payment scheme.
The two-year coverage fee will reach P2,400 this year, as PhilHealth increased its premium by 100 percent, or from P600 to P1,200 in 2012, and to P2,400 in 2013.
Banzon explained that the premiums to be paid by the LGUs will increase to P1,200 this year because the national government’s counterpart of P600 had been removed by Congress.
Marañon said the provincial officials and mayors have agreed to stay with PhilHealth this year, after Banzon’s bid for easier pay scheme, and would no longer go for the local service provider under the Negros Occidental Comprehensive Health Care Program (NOCHP).
Banzon also cautioned LGU officials from pushing with their plans to shoulder the health claims of their constituents through NOCHP. “It would be unfortunate if you pursue your decision … an LGU health insurance scheme is a difficult task … globally, the experience of locally-run health insurance schemes is that they are hard to sustain,” Banzon said.
“You just don’t have the numbers to sustain it – your administrative cost will really be bad…I’m not just saying that just to dissuade you (from withdrawing) but …it may be a decision that you will regret,” he said.
Moreover, PhilHealth is now in the process of rolling out more benefits, including outpatient-primary care, Banzon said, adding that they expect to nearly double their benefit payments this year. - THE FREEMAN