By Rjay Zuriaga Castor
The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) reported on Tuesday that 7.23 million individuals in Western Visayas are already registered in their database as of August 2023.
PhilHealth data showed that this is 89.84 percent of the 8.09 million projected population in 2023.
The island province of Guimaras recorded the highest membership registration with 92.48 percent or an equivalent of 176,055 members.
The list is followed by Iloilo with 91.35 percent, Capiz with 91.27 percent, Aklan with 88.83 percent, Negros Occidental with 88.82 percent, and Antique with 87.15 percent.
Despite the significant number of membership accounts logged across the region, PhilHealth cannot capture the entire population, as some only seek the agency’s health services after contracting a disease.
“It is explicitly provided that we have to cover 100 percent of the entire population. However, not everyone can be captured due to the Filipino culture, where people only remember PhilHealth when they are already undergoing something in their health,” explained Janimhe Jalbuna, public affairs unit head of PhilHealth Western Visayas.
The country has made great strides in moving towards universal health coverage through the Universal Health Care Act (UHC) or Republic Act 11223 signed in 2019.
Under the UHC Law, all citizens are automatically entitled to PhilHealth benefits, including comprehensive outpatient services.
While the benefits are automatically provided, Jalbuna encouraged the public to still apply for membership, especially members of the informal economy.
“While we say automatic, still there is a need for them to register so that we can get their entire data and we can enter it in our database,” she explained.
As of August 2023, PhilHealth has collected P3.104 billion from the premium contribution of its members among others.
All 156 healthcare institutions in the region are accredited and can provide inpatient benefits, outpatient benefits, Z benefits, and SDG benefits
Meanwhile, there are 160 accredited Konsulta Package Providers (KPPs) in the region as of October this year.
The Konsulta package is PhilHealth’s primary healthcare program that makes consultation, laboratory tests, and medicines available to the agency’s members.
PhilHealth data showed that there are 57 KKPs in Iloilo, 34 in Negros Occidental, 26 in Antique, 20 in Aklan, 10 in Capiz, and four in Guimaras.
Through these KPPs, 145,301 registered members availed of the service or had their first patient encounter with PhilHealth’s program.
PhilHealth also reported that it has already paid P10.09 million for benefit claims of KPPs in the region as of the end of October.
