FEBRUARY is National Health Insurance Program (NHIP) Month by virtue of Proclamation 1400 series of 2007. It is also during this month that the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) celebrates its 22nd Anniversary as the government agency mandated to ensure that all Filipinos are provided with social health insurance protection against the rising cost of medical care services.
This year’s anniversary is focused on the theme "Challenged by Change, Empowered by Unity." It emphasizes PhilHealth’s resilience amid the changes taking place in the health care and health insurance industries, both locally and globally. It also highlights the role of strategic institutional linkages in enabling the organization to carry out its mandate efficiently and effectively for the benefit of its nearly a hundred million members and beneficiaries.
Activities lined up for the month-long observance include a simultaneous, nationwide Thanksgiving celebration on February 14, and ReachOut with members through health care facility visits to be undertaken by PhilHealth’s Regional Offices until February 16. The latest benefit products and services will be showcased in the PhilHealth Forward on February 15, after which a Press Conference will be held to relay to the public the major strides done by the agency, as well as its plans and programs for 2017.
A PhilHealth Symposium will showcase the Philippines' journey towards Universal Health Coverage, while employee engagement activities will also be held.
The PhilHealth was created in 1995 through Republic Act 7875 or the National Health Insurance Act of 1995. The enabling law has been amended twice to ensure that the agency is able to cope with the demands of a national program that seeks to protect Filipinos from financial risks brought about by medical necessities. (END)