By Mike Crismundo
BUTUAN CITY – Members of Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth) in Northeastern Mindanao or Caraga region has reached 2,532,053, including their dependents.
PhilHealth Vice President Eduardo S. Gonzalez bares the accomplishments and assistance extended to the insurance members and the benefits of the Universal Health Care program during the Media Forum and Pasasalamat 2020 on Feb. 20
(Mike U. Crismundo / MANILA BULLETIN)
The membership comes from government (187,794), private sector (371,076), informal economy (361,253); migrant workers (84,228), indigent (1,113,459), sponsored (171,667) lifetime members (66,004), and senior citizens (176,572).
Fifteen percent of these insurance members are from the private sector, 12 percent from the informal sector, eight percent from the government sector, and three percent are migrant workers.
In addition to its growing membership in Caraga region, 45 percent are indigent, 7 percent are senior citizens, 7 percent are sponsored members and 3 percent are lifetime members.
“All these members benefited from our insurance program,” stressed Dr. Eduardo S. Gonzalez, Vice President of PhilHealth, during a media forum and the“Pasasalamat 2020”, which was held in relation to the agency’s 25th anniversary celebration at the Watergate Boutique Hotel here on Thursday, February 20.
The PhilHealth official disclosed that more than P1.8 billion worth of benefits has been paid to its members in the region as of December 2019.
The agency has collected P1,383,111,000 in premiums where 31 percent came from the government, 24 percent from the private sector, and 23 percent from senior citizens, VP Gonzalez said.
A total of 13 level-1 and 10 level-2 hospitals are also accredited with Philhealth in the area.
Gonzalez added that 71 TB DOTS (directly observed treatment, short-course) centers and five animal bite centers are also accredited to Philhealth in Caraga region.
Caraga region is comprised of the provinces of Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur and the Province of Dinagat Islands (PDI) and the cities of Surigao, Tandag, Bislig, Bayugan, Cabadbaran and the region’s capital city of Butuan.
“PhilHealth is continuously assisting our insurance members, more so that we are now ready to implement our Universal Health Care Program, where our media partners plays a vital role in informing the general public about his program,” Gonzalez added.