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Monday, January 30, 2006
Capitol health insurance now covers 396T
AT LEAST 396,000 persons have availed themselves of the Cebu Provincial Government’s program to give health insurance to the poor.
The insurance program also makes economic enterprises out of the 18 district hospitals.
More than 77 percent of the 1,283 day care workers all over the province and 6,321 of the province’s 6,520 barangay health workers were also given accident insurance plans.
The Capitol is expanding the insurance program to cover 15,000 barangay tanods and Cebu’s 12,342 barangay officials. But so far, only six towns submitted a list of tanods and nine towns submitted a list of barangay leaders.
The Province allocated P13 million for the annual premium for the Philhealth program alone.
Integrated Provincial Health Office Chief Dr. Cristina Giango made this report before officials who attended last week’s meeting of the local development council.
‘Useless’
Earlier, former senator John “Sonny” Osmeña criticized the insurance programs as useless, saying no one will be using the cards anyway.
But by spending a mere P20 for each health worker and day care worker, the Capitol is assuring them of an insurance coverage of up to P30,000.
The indigents’ program, meanwhile, costs P1,200 per family and all family members can already avail themselves of health services.
The group accident coverage, on the other hand, costs P35 for each tanod and each barangay official. Their coverage is up to P68,000 annually.
Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia was able to haggle for the lowest price with the Government Service Insurance System, which provides the group insurance.
She also managed to convince Philhealth to include all family members in the coverage, considering that previous Philhealth insurance coverage by the national government had a very low percentage of use, because these did not carry dependents. Cebu Province has enrolled the biggest number of families to the Phihealth program among provinces in the country. (JPM)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (January 30, 2006 issue)
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