BACOLOD CITY — The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) urged healthcare providers in Western Visayas, including those in Negros Occidental, to seek accreditation to provide essential services under the expanded Primary Care Benefit (ePCB).
Dr. Israel Francis Pargas, acting senior vice president for Health Finance Policy Sector, arrived here Wednesday for PhilHealth’s Social Health Insurance Education Series (SHInES) seminar. He said the recently-launched ePCB brings “very good benefit” to the members.
“One, it’s a primary care. It’s promotive, it’s preventive… We have just launched this and we are awaiting for our providers to be accredited to provide the ePCB,” he added.
The expanded PCB can be availed of by all members and their qualified dependents under the formal economy or the employed sector, lifetime members, and senior citizens to cover more illnesses, disabilities, and the maintenance medicines for members.
“We have expanded this to cover more, for more,” Pargas added.
The ePCB includes coverage for those who have diabetes and hypertension and those who need maintenance drugs, as well as children with disabilities.
As of October 1, the PhilHealth requires three months of premium contribution within six months prior to the first day of confinement.
Under the sufficient regularity of payment requirement, a member should have paid at least nine months’ worth of premiums in the 12 months preceding the confinements, including the confinement month of the patient.
The monthly premium for formal sector members is pegged at 2.75 percent of the basic salary, which is PHP275 based on the salary floor of PHP10,000.
For the formal employed members, the contribution of PHP275 includes a personal share and employer share of PHP137.50, respectively.
For members in the informal economy earning PHP25,000 and below, the monthly premium is PHP200, or PHP2,400 a year.
Those earning more than PHP25,000 pay PHP300 a month or PHP3,600 a year.
The contribution of indigents at PHP2,400 annually and those of senior citizens at PHP3,120 a year are paid by the national government using the proceeds of the Sin Tax Law.
During the day-long seminar at the L’Fisher Chalet, Pargas was joined by other PhilHealth officials, including Arsenia Torres, senior manager for Social Health Insurance Academy; Dr. Bernadette Reynes, chief of Health Care Delivery Management Division of PhilHealth-Western Visayas; and Owen Magalona, chief of Membership Section of PhilHealth-Western Visayas.
Some 50 information officers of various government agencies in Negros Occidental attended and 13 media partners covered the event. (Nanette Guadalquiver/PNA)
