The Philippines’ health care condition has improved in the last two decades but not as much compared to other Southeast-Asian countries. Factors such as climate change, high population density, rapid urbanization contributes to new infectious diseases, thus the demand for health insurance is rapidly increasing.

1. Philhealth and the Private Health
Insurance Part One

2. The Philippines’ health care condition has improved in the
last two decades but not as much compared to other
Southeast-Asian countries. Factors such as climate
change, high population density, rapid urbanization
contributes to new infectious diseases, thus the demand for
health insurance is rapidly increasing. The need for health
care insurance is carried by both public and private
institutions.

3. PhilHealth
The government mandatory health insurance provider is the
Philippine Health Insurance Corporation or PhilHealth. It is
mandated “to provide universal health insurance coverage
and ensured affordable, acceptable, available, accessible,
and quality health care services for all Filipinos.”
Philhealth has five different programs each has its own
distinct conditions of access, benefits and financing. The
private health care insurance company also provides
similar program but the difference in the word “affordability”.

4. Employed Sector Program – is a compulsory coverage of
all employees in government and the private sector. Half of
the amount of the monthly premium is shoulder by the
employer. The amount could be as low as PHP 87.50 for
employees with a PHP 7,000 base salary to as high as
PHP 437 for those earning PHP 35,000. Also included are
seafarers.
Sponsored Program – covers the extremely poor. Members
are those indigents belonging to the lowest 25% of the
population

5. Individually Paying Program – voluntary coverage of the
self-employed and others not covered by the rest of the
programs. For those earning PHP 25,000 below PHP 450
per quarter or annual PHP 1,800. Above PHP 25,000, PHP
3,600 annual or PHP 900 quarterly
Overseas Filipino Workers – for land based Filipinos
working outside the country and their dependents.

6. Lifetime Member Program – free for members that have
already completed their 120 monthly contributions.
With PhilHealth, there is no additional premium on the
member’s dependent and no limit on the number of
dependants. Benefit coverage for inpatient provides
subsidy for room, medicines, laboratories, operating room
and professional fee for confinement. Outpatient covers
consultation, diagnostic services, visual acuity examination,
psychological evaluation, preventive and promotive health
service and others.

7. Application can be done can also be done directly on their
branch offices or via online enrollment. Payments can be
made through banks and authorized payment center.
In the next part, we will discuss the private health insurance
sector and look at the difference in terms of affordability,
acceptability, availability, accessibility, and quality.

8. http://www.compareking.ph/health-insurance/philhealth-priva