More than just enrolling them to PhilHealth, indigent families must be made aware of their benefits, Leyte guv says

More than enrolling the indigent families to PhilHealth, there is a need to inform them that they are members and to make them aware of the benefits that awaits them for registering in the National Health Insurance Program. This was pronounced by Leyte Governor Dominic L. Petilla during a media forum on Making Health More Inclusive in a Growing Economy initiated recently, by Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), and the Philippine Information Agency. "Some do not know that they are enrolled with and are members of PhilHealth and they are entitled to benefits once they get hospitalized. We still have several such cases in the hospitals run by the province,” Governor Petilla said. He added that there is the need to promote public awareness on PhilHealth’s importance, its benefits, and more importantly, to encourage the enrolment of the poorest of the poor in the country as identified by DSWD through the National Household Targeting System (NHTS). Studies have shown that only 50 percent of Philhealth members who enter private hospitals actually use their Philhealth cards while only 24 percent of those who enter public hospitals and health centers do so, Governor Petilla added.