WITH the recent move of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to slowly integrate less-privileged Filipinos into the government’s universal health care program, the spotlight now falls on the state of health care among poor Filipinos.

According to the Philippine Information Agency (PIA), the government’s health insurance arm is planning to expand its program to more than 10 million indigent families, with the insurance coverage of 5.2 million poor families to be paid for by the government and another five million families to be supported by the local government.  

Paying over P16 billion for benefits since May 2012, PhilHealth intends to increase benefit payments to more than P1billion weekly beginning July 2012.

Despite these recent moves by Philhealth, only 34 percent of Filipinos are covered by the government’s health care program in 2009.  For those that are gainfully employed in the private sector, access to health maintenance organizations (HMOs) depends on the discretion of the management, since there is absolutely no law that requires employers to provide HMO coverage for their employees. To date, only 20 percent of the population has health coverage through HMOs.

Coverage does not necessarily cover all dependents. For those who do not have such coverage, PhilhealthCare, Inc. (PhilCare) offers affordable out-patient care in the form of bundled health packages, and prepaid health care which brings health care closer to the common Filipino.

PhilCare pioneered prepaid health cards in 2005, initially offering two types of cards.  As part of its 30th anniversary celebration, it has come up with a new line-up of very affordable prepaid health cards, that have been tailor-fitted to suit different needs.

The new packages are:  Women’s Health which covers PAP Smear, Transvaginal or breast Ultrasound and one OB-Gyne Consult; Love Your Heart which entitles the bearer to ECG, Lipid profile and one internal medicine consult; Holiday Glow which covers electrocautery of warts (v.plana) and free EMLA (Eutectic Mixture of Local Anesthetics) cream usage; Consult to the Max which provides unlimited consultations for one year to any of the following specialties: internal medicine, family medicine, OB-Gynecology, pediatrics and ENT; and Clinic 5+ which provides  an Annual Physical Examination  covering    medical history evaluation, physical examination, complete blood count (CBC), fecalysis or stool examination, urinalysis, chest x-ray and one internal medicine consult. On top of these, all cards will automatically entitle the bearer to discounts on selected laboratory and x-ray procedures including ultrasound in PhilCare clinics. Putting emphasis on affordability, package price ranges from PHP345.00 to PHP1,440.00. To learn more about PhilCare, you may call their 24-hour hotline: (+632) 802-7200.