THE town of Lagawe in Ifugao has earmarked P600,000 in its 2015 budget as a counterpart in the insurance premium of indigent beneficiaries of the National Health Insurance (NHI) or Medicare para sa Masa.
“Because of the continuously increasing cost of medical and health services, many Lagaweans especially the indigent families cannot afford the cost and deprived of the medical and health services they needed most,” the Lagawe town council stated in a resolution.
The NHI lists as beneficiaries indigent elderlies, disabled women and children, and those with severe illness where medical supplies, health and social services are provided inexpensively to them.
The NHI enrollees are recommended by the municipal selection committee and determined through the means test protocol by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).
The committee is chaired by the municipal mayor with the Department of Social Welfare and Development Officer (MSWDO), a Sangguniang Bayan Member, and the chairman on the Committee on Social Welfare as members. Marcelo Lihgawon