DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 19 Feb) – The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) Regional Office XI has partnered with the city’s Office of Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) to encourage the elderly to register for PhilHealth coverage.
In a press statement, PhilHealth said the registration is mandated by Republic Act 10645 or the Mandatory PhilHealth Coverage for Senior Citizens Act.
In a meeting held earlier this month, PhilHealth and OSCA agreed to consolidate the requirements through the OSCA. The OSCA will then disseminate the information to senior citizens organizations, including those in the barangay levels.
After encoding and thorough sieving of registration forms, PhilHealth shall facilitate the printing of PhilHealth card and member data record (MDR) of senior citizens which shall then be distributed in a Barangayan scheme.
According to PhilHealh, a senior citizen is defined as any Filipino citizen who is at least 60 years of age.
The mandatory PhilHealth coverage also extends to those with dual citizenship for as long as they are able to present documents which establish their Filipino citizenship and residency of at least six months in the country, it added.
As of 2014, the OSCA recorded 451 chapters in all of the city’s 14 districts identified under the federation with a total of 38,218 seniors, exclusive of inactive and non-members.
PhilHealth will also schedule orientations for senior citizens per district to ensure they know their benefits under the law.
Walk-in registration will be allowed for those not belonging to any association or for those in urgent need to avail of hospitalization benefits.
OSCA chief Azucena Bajao urged all senior citizens to enlist at their respective chapters to facilitate a structured and updated database of senior citizens which shall be endorsed to PhilHealth on a quarterly basis.
