GENERAL SANTOS CITY – The Sarangani provincial government is seeking to achieve full coverage this year for patients admitted to its municipal and district hospitals under the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.’s (PhilHealth) “No Balance Billing (NBB)” policy.
This, as PhilHealth declared the Municipal Hospital of Maasim as the only public hospital in Region 12 (Soccsksargen) that has fully implemented and achieved a 100-percent admission coverage under the NBB.
Dr. Arvin Alejandro, provincial health officer, said Tuesday such development was based on the assessment conducted by PhilHealth-12 on the five local government-supported hospitals in the province.
Alejandro said the 100-percent admission coverage meant that all hospital-related expenses of patients at the Maasim Municipal Hospitals are already fully covered through the NBB.
“It means that their patients no longer have to pay anything when they are released after admission or confinement,” he said in a statement.
The official said the assessment also covered the province’s four other hospitals — the municipal hospitals in Malungon, Maitum and Glan, and the district hospital in Kiamba town.
Overall, Alejandro said the five hospitals in the area posted an average rating of 97.5 percent for the NBB as of this year.
He said they are currently working with PhilHealth-12 and the management of the hospitals to fully achieve a 100-percent coverage for all patients.
To realize that, he said the provincial government is also working on the enrollment of more indigent families to PhilHealth’s health insurance program.
Alejandro said the local government has allocated about PHP10 million annually for the enrollment of 4,600 indigent families. The enrolled households comprise about 90 percent of patient admission in the province’s municipal and district hospitals, he added.
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