PhilHealth and Gawad Kalinga forge ties towards UHC December 7, 2012

THE Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and the Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation (GK) recently formalized a joint undertaking for the benefit of the non-poor informal sector grantees of GK.

The partnership, which was enshrined in a Memorandum of Agreement signed by said agencies, aims to further strengthen the Aquino Health Agenda of Universal Health Care (UHC) or Kalusugang Pangkalahatan.

The agreement calls for the enrolment and sustained coverage of GK villagers who will be enrolled under PhilHealth's iGroup system.

Gawad Kalinga, which means "to give care," is a Philippine-based poverty alleviation and nation-building movement. It builds empowered communities of people with faith and patriotism, driven by a culture of caring and sharing, dedicated to eradicate poverty and restore human dignity.

"We believe that health is very important. This partnership with PhilHealth is a great equalizer, an investment in human capital development for Filipinos, and for them to connect to opportunities to better themselves" said GK Executive Director Jose Luis M. Oquiñena.

Meanwhile, PhilHealth President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Eduardo P. Banzon said that "with the creation of the PhilHealth iGroup, people are enrolled in groups, such as cooperatives or organizations like the Gawad Kalinga. We make it convenient for them to enroll and pay their premiums even in malls where ‘PhilHealth Express’ are located; and also provide them with incentives to sustain membership."

GK beneficiaries to be enlisted shall be entitled to full PhilHealth benefits including the recently introduced case rate payments for 23 medical and surgical cases and the 'Z' benefit package for catastrophic illnesses which includes childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia, breast and prostate cancer, and kidney transplant, with financial coverage of P210,000, P100,000 (each), and P600,000 respectively.

Banzon further added that "PhilHealth's vision statement "Bawat Pilipino miyembro, bawat miyembro protektado, kalusugan natin segurado" is more than just a statement as partnerships such as this make us closer to our goal of UHC." (END)