41% of 1.2M PhilHealth-member OFWs are inactive

About 500,000 of the 1.2 million members of the overseas workers program (OWP) of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation are inactive, an official of PhilHealth has said.

“In my initial review of the OWP database, I discovered that about 500,000 (41.6 percent) of our members are inactive. But I still have to crosscheck the figures," said Greg Rulloda, PhilHealth’s vice president.

“Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) tend to forget their monthly dues. The database system automatically reports as inactive expired membership," Rulloda told radio host Ma. Fe Nicodemus of Kakammpi, an organization of migrant workers and their families.

“PhilHealth is asking members to update their membership to avoid problems over claims later," Rulloda added.

He said that the OWP is doing everything to make registration and payment processes easy.

He also noted that the program would adopt electronic-registration and electronic-payment system early in 2008 to help members do transactions with PhilHealth anytime, anywhere.

In August this year, PhilHealth introduced its expanded and enhanced outpatient benefit (OPB) package.

It set aside P6 million for the initial implementation of OPB services from July to December 2007.

These services are consultations, diagnostic services, preventive and promotive health services and other tests.

Diagnostic services cover complete blood count, routine urinalysis, fecalysis, fasting blood sugar, blood typing, hemoglobin/hematocrit, electrocardiogram and hepatitis B screening test.

Examinations that fall under the promotive and/or preventive health services are periodic digital rectal exam, visual acetic acid screening for cervical cancer, periodic clinical breast exam and nutrition or dietary counseling.

Visual acuity exam, psychological evaluation and debriefing, auditory evaluation and treatment for urinary tract infection, upper respiratory tract infection and acute gastro-enteritis are also part of the OWP package.

As earlier announced, these services were supposed to be available at all Department of Health accredited hospitals in various parts of the country beginning October 2007. - GMANews.TV

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