THE provincial government is on the process of giving health benefits and coverage for the employees through its Negros Occidental Comprehensive Health Program (NOCHP).

This was assured Monday, September 26, 2022, by Provincial Administrator Atty. Rayfrando Diaz II in response to the request of the Progressive Alliance of Capitol Employees (Pace) to grant health, hospitalization and health care insurance benefits for the officials and employees of the provincial government.

It has been the plan by Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer, Diaz said, adding that they are working on getting the baseline data of the employees, especially those having illness such as diabetes and cancer.

“So that whenever referrals are made in the hospitals their respective medical histories are already available,” he stressed.

Out of this baseline data, the province will implement a comprehensive health plan to give them proper health advice and early detection for prevention or cure, Diaz added.

The provincial administrator explained that once the savings of the province is determined, the NOCHP coverage of the employees including the job order and contract of service (COS) workers will be made.

“We want to do away with the shotgun approach which is not effective. We want to provide hospitals with the baseline data of the patients," he emphasized.

In Resolution No. 2022- 15, Pace asked Lacson to grant health, hospitalization and health care insurance benefits for the officials and employees of the provincial government.

It cited the Supreme Court case in September 2010 where the provincial government won the case against the Commission on Audit (COA) where it sustained the payment of the hospitalization and health care insurance of its officials and employees.

In Resolution 2022- 16, Pace also urged the governor to grant coverage of NOCHP and free medical and hospitalization services in all district and provincial hospitals of all job order and contract of services employees of the provincial government.

The resolution said that the workers "are exposed from time to time to work hazard and thus some of them have already suffered injury or involved in accidents while performing their duties."