News
Arroyo declares Feb. 8 to March 8 as NHIP Month - February 2007
HER Excellency Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has declared February 8 to March 8, 2007 as the National Health Insurance Program (NHIP) Month.
The President, through Proclamation No. 1232 issued on February 7, recognized the need for the continuous enrolment of less fortunate Filipinos into the NHIP to enable them to gain access to high quality medical care benefits. The NHIP is being administered by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) which celebrated its 12th year last February 14.
The Proclamation also called for the immediate health insurance coverage of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to entitle them to health care financing benefits anywhere in the world. Their legal dependents in the country may gain access to medical care benefits as long as the OFW-member's PhilHealth coverage remains active.
Lorna O. Fajardo, Acting President and Chief Executive Officer of PhilHealth said that "...there is a need to further strengthen the communication and networking efforts of PhilHealth to ensure that members are updated on the developments of their PhilHealth membership and benefits."
To help boost PhilHealth's efforts to pursue its mandate of universal coverage, President Arroyo called on the active multi-sector involvement of various government agencies and organizations to ensure the success of its campaign.
Among these agencies are the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
Local government units (LGUs), on the other hand, are tasked to primarily undertake the enrolment of indigent families in their own localities into the Sponsored Program. "Rest assured that we will continue to exert all efforts to make our services more accessible, affordable and available to everyone," Fajardo said.