4Ps beneficiaries assured of health insurance premiums

THE National Government is extending anew its aid to all beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) by providing health insurance to them.

The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) announced that starting this week until 2013, 4Ps beneficiaries are assured of health insurance premiums regardless of whether they are listed in the National Household Targeting System–Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR).

“This is in response to the clamor from local government units that some 4Ps members not listed in the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR), are not registered with PhilHealth,” said Miramar Zabala, regional information officer of said agency.

Previously, 4Ps recipients are not covered with health insurance benefits if they are not identified in the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) NHTS-PR listings.

The National Government subsidizes the premium for NHTS-PR-identified poor families employing the sponsored program (SP) approach.

“Upon presentation of the 4Ps identification card, a beneficiary, either as sponsored program member or as a qualified dependent, will be entitled to all NHIP benefits with any health care provider accredited by PhilHealth,” she added.

To ensure that SP members under the NHTS for poverty reduction of the DSWD are able to avail themselves of health insurance benefits, accredited institutional health care providers (IHCP) were told to verify the membership and eligibility status of the members.

This year, the National Government has set aside P12.02 billion as subsidy for health insurance premium of indigent families enrolled in the NHTS-PR channeled through the Department of Health.

In this scheme, the state-run corporation assured that that processing of hospital’s reimbursement will be completed within the 60 days processing period prescribed under existing rules. (Leyte Samar Daily Express)