News
PhilHealth Celebrates 11th Anniversary - Feb 14, 2006
The UP Concert Chorus serenades guests and participants during the “Gabi ng Pasasalamat” held at the UP Abelardo Hall.
Ms. Linda B. Laureta, OIC of the General Services Department and Robert Paguia of Prosecution Department hosted the first part of the “Gabi ng Pasasalamat.”
Lorna O. Fajardo, Officer-in-charge of the Office of the President and CEO answers questions from a reporter of IBC-13 during the pre-anniversary Press Briefing held at the Annabel’s Restaurant in Quezon City. Fajardo thanked the media for supporting PhilHealth’s information dissemination efforts the past years. She said that the press briefing was being held to inform the members what the PhilHealth has done the past year. In particular, she mentioned that PhilHealth is already covering the overseas contract workers, and that this move “...finishes off the last sector that will have to be included into PhilHealth.”
Dr. Eduardo P. Banzon, PhilHealth Vice President for Health Finance Policy and Services Sector explains the innovations being made by PhilHealth in the area of accreditation and quality assurance. He adds that the support value of PhilHealth has increased substantially over the last five years and that doctors now recognize that it is better for everybody to have PhilHealth. “They collect only up to the PhilHealth rates, rather than meron kang bundles na hahabulin. Wala na silang sisingilin over and above what PhilHealth provides,” he said.
Dr. Giovanni Roan from the Quality Assurance Research and Policy Development Group tackles the TB-DOTS Package of PhilHealth during the Scientific Symposium held at the Pearl Manila Hotel. Dr. Roan said that the challenges for PhilHealth in this area include how to expand the benefit package, how to address the delay in the roll-out of the claims information system, the need to increase the number of TB-DOTS facilities, the non-implementation of the TB registry and the pursuit of the awareness campaign on the package.
The Scientific Symposium brought together representatives from PhilHealth’s partners in the area of quality assurance, information dissemination, accreditation, marketing and membership, among others. It was a first for PhilHealth, an activity that highlighted the responses of PhilHealth to the changing medical and health insurance environment.
A photo exhibit on PhilHealth’s milestones over the last ten years was also put up just outside the Ballroom of the Pearl Manila Hotel where participants to the Scientific Symposium were able to browse over the photo collection.
One of the participants proposes that PhilHealth advocacy should be “a continuing thing” something that will include the people that ensures the implementation of various programs at the barangay or municpal levels.
Dr. Stella Quimbo, a professor of Economics at the UP Diliman, addresses an inquiry on “Linking Quality Care and Insurance Payments.”