ZAMBOANGA CITY—The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) is set to delist at least 20,000 beneficiaries of the city government’s PhilHealth program by January of 2012.
This was announed by Mayor Celso Lobregat as the national government is bent on implementing the new PhilHealth sponsorship policy involving the local governments nationwide starting January despite requests for reconsideration.
The new policy is also to pave the way for the expansion of the national government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
Lobregat said the new policy provides that only those included in the National Housing Targeting System (NHTS) survey conducted by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) are eligible for the PhilHealth sponsorship program.
The NHTS survey was done in 2009 purposely to identify the poorest of the poor.
The 20,000 to be delisted in January 2012 are among the 25,792 beneficiaries of the health insurance program in this city.
To be delisted are senior citizens, barangay officials, persons with disabilities, members of the Rural Improvement Club, members of the media, day-care workers, barangay health workers, barangay nutrition scholars, and members of homeowners and urban poor sssociations.
Only more than 5,000 on the list of present beneficiaries are included in the NHTS survey conducted by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Lobregat disclosed.
Lobregat said each beneficiary is entitled to a one year PhilHealth insurance for P1,200 with the local government shouldering half of the total amount and the remaining half by the national government.
Lobregat earlier sought reconsideration from PhilHealth, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Health (DOH) on the new sponsorship policy.
However, the national government is bent on implementing the new policy starting January 2012 nationwide.
Meanwhile, the affected beneficiaries are participating in a march protest on Thursday to express their sentiments over the national government’s new PhilHealth sponsorship policy that will take effect in January.
The protesters will converge at the Paseo del Mar in the morning and will march to the DSWD regional office on Gen. Alvarez Street and later to the PhilHealth office on Veterans Avenue.
On Monday, members of the different urban poor organizations in this city asked President Aquino to order a review of the new sponsorship policy.
In a petition letter, they appealed to the President to reconsider the national government’s position and continue to subsidize their PhilHealth benefits stressing that it is “a great help to the poor constituents of this country.”
