Senior citizens can now gain greater peace of mind because with the amended law, they are going to be covered by PhilHealth’s national health insurance program effective November 25, 2014. Senior citizens sixty years old and above can take advantage of this coverage. To qualify for this coverage, they need to provide proof of Filipino citizenship and they must be a resident of the country for at least six months. The senior citizen PhilHealth coverage also entitles members to declare dependents.
What can senior citizens expect from PhilHealth coverage?
Due to the privilege of senior citizen members to declare dependents, their spouses can also be enrolled as members as well. Members need to keep in mind that Senior Citizen category should not be mistaken or confused for Lifetime Member Category. With Lifetime Member Category, members are not required to pay contributions to become eligible for the benefits. On the other hand, Senior Citizen members need to have premium contributions and these are taken from the Sin Tax Law proceeds.
Enrolment of senior citizen members is usually done in bulk. The list will be obtained from cities and municipalities. Each office will be required to follow the standard text file as the information will be uploaded to the database. Although individual enrolment is allowed, this is highly discouraged.
For bulk enrolment, an electronic list of senior citizens must be obtained from the Office of the Senior Citizen Affairs or OSCA. Qualified applicants will be automatically enrolled. For individual enrolment, applicants are advised to go directly to any PhilHealth office. Some of the privileges that senior citizen members can enjoy include free dental and medical services, access to all government medical facilities, which are still subject to guidelines and many more. These are going to be issued by the Department of Health or DOH. With this amendment, senior citizens will heave a sigh of relief knowing that the country’s health insurance has got them covered.
For individual membership, applicants are required to submit a duly accomplished PhilHealth Registration Form or also referred to as PMRF and proof that the member is indeed a senior citizen. Once the applicant has complied with the membership document requirements, a PhilHealth ID card and MDR will be issued. These will serve as proof of enrolment.
Senior citizen members will have access to inpatient hospital care, Z-benefits, ambulatory or day services and many other packages. Senior citizens just need to present their card, proof of identification and MDR if they wish to avail of these benefits.