News
PhilHealth collects P497M from OFWs - March 03, 2006
THE Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) collected
P489 million in health insurance premiums from Overseas Filipino
Workers (OFWs) who left for jobs abroad last year.
In a recent forum with stakeholders of the Overseas Workers
Program (OWP) held at the Diamond Hotel Philippines, Lorna O.
Fajardo, Officer-in-charge of the Office of the President and
CEO said that from March 1 to December 31, 2005, total collections
from OFW members reached P497,800,675. This figure is 6.87 percent
more than what was collected from January to December 2004.
Fajardo attributed the increased collections to the heightened
information campaign of PhilHealth’s regional and service
offices among families with OFWs in various parts of the country.
"We pursued an intensive information drive to apprise
relatives of OFWs about the new arrangements as far as the health
insurance premiums of OFWs are concerned," Fajardo
emphasized. Further, she added that PhilHealth entered into
a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Department of Labor
and Employment (DOLE) which will deputize the latter’s
Labor Attache corps as collecting arm abroad.
The payment of PhilHealth premium contributions is mandatory
for OFWs who are either leaving the country for jobs overseas
for the first time or returning to their employment sites overseas
under new work contracts. The premium is pegged at P900.00 per
year but OFWs may opt to pay their premium for two (2) years
if their employment contracts stipulate so.
On the other hand, OFWs who have earlier signed up under the
OWP, and who are currently abroad may ask their relatives in
the country to pay the premium through any of PhilHealth’s
17 Regional and 84 Service Offices nationwide.
Active OFW members whose membership coverage have expired and
who have failed to immediately renew their membership prior
to the time of expiry are given a grace period of one month
immediately following the date of expiry to renew. They are
allowed to settle their premium contribution.