The Taguig City government on Thursday announced it has initiated a project giving health benefits to about 10,000 public transport vehicle owners and drivers in the city.
Pedicab, jeepney, tricycle and taxi drivers and public utility vehicle owners in Taguig can now avail membership to Philippine Health Insurance under the 10-day project dubbed “TODA-JODA Pasada, Kalusugan ay BIDA.”
The event started on Friday, January 18 at the Lakeshore Hall in Barangay Lower Bicutan and will continue until Feb. 1.
During the event, a PhilHealth booth will allow attendees to fill out their own Member Registration Form and will be given their PhilHealth number. Their IDs will be delivered to their respective drivers’ association after processing.
PhilHealth members are entitled to free in-patient services at PhilHealth-accredited government facilities or hospitals on various conditions, including cataract surgery and appendectomy. PhilHealth also provides subsidy for room and board, drugs and medicines, laboratories, operating room and professional fees for confinements not less than 24 hours.
While PhilHealth Outpatient Benefit Package may be availed in both public and private PhilHealth-accredited facilities for free, some clinics may still require additional payments in excess of the PhilHealth payment. The outpatient services include medical consultation, blood-pressure monitoring, and counseling for smoke cessation, among others.
Apart from the registration, the beneficiaries can avail of other medical services on-site, such as laboratory, chest X-ray, dental and pharmacy services. Two mobile X-ray machines and a medical team composed of barangay health workers, nurses, doctors and dentists will be deployed, while food, refreshments, and tokens will also be distributed to the participants.
This special medical mission is similar to the city’s Taguig Love Caravan where residents avail of the same medical services plus other additions like free haircut, massage, livelihood training, and even a job fair. Unlike medical missions in other cities, this pioneering health program in Taguig goes around the city’s 28 barangays three times a week.
There also will be help desks for the city’s LANI scholarship program which has already produced more than 57,000 scholars and a budget which has increased to P675 million this year;
The Taguig-Pateros District Hospital’s home health service which is composed of physical therapists and nurses who visit debilitated patients and teaches family members how to take care of their ill loved ones; and the Persons with Disability Affairs Office which has aided the employment of PWDs and started the PWD birthday cash incentive.
Mayor Laarni Cayetano said the local government was able to embark on this new social and health service because it is now debt-free and, because of efficient business tax collection through the Business One-Stop Shop, Taguig has the funds to bankroll the program.
“The health of every family member is a very important aspect in our community, so we continue to find innovative, inclusive ways to provide medical assistance to Taguigeños,” Cayetano noted.
“This project with PhilHealth maybe the first in our city but to which I assure everyone will continue for years to come,” she added noting that the local government will remain steadfast in crafting programs which will truly be of service to every family in Taguig.
In Taguig, more than 33,000 residents have been registered with PhilHealth through LGU-sponsorship, the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) and the Department of Education.