In line with the recent observance of the “Filipino Elderly Week,” the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) has again reminded Filipinos 60 years old and above that they are mandatorily covered under the National Health Insurance Program according to Republic Act (RA) 10645, and as reiterated under RA 11223 or the Universal Health Care Law of 2019.
Under Section 5 of RA 10645, all senior citizens shall be covered by PhilHealth. Their annual premium contributions shall be borne by the National Government from the proceeds of RA No. 10351 (Sin Tax Law), provided that they are not currently covered by any existing (membership) category of PhilHealth. Likewise, a senior citizen must not have a regular source of income to be granted this privilege under the law. PhilHealth President and CEO Dante A. Gierran invited senior citizens to ensure that they are duly registered or are updated in their records with PhilHealth.
“We have partnered with the Office for Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) in the local government units so that elderly Filipinos can be registered with PhilHealth conveniently,” Gierran said, adding that “qualified senior citizens should only submit two duly accomplished PhilHealth Member Registration Form (PMRF) to the OSCA where they reside and await notification if their Member Data Record is already sent by PhilHealth.”
If a senior citizen opts to register at any PhilHealth Local Health Insurance Office, they must also present and submit a copy of their Senior Citizens’ ID or any proof of age together with a 1×1 photo taken within the last six months, in addition to their filled-out PMRF.
As of June 2021, some 8.4 million Senior Citizen Members and 1.3 million Lifetime Members were registered with PhilHealth, with a combined qualified dependent of 3.3 million. From January to June 2021, PhilHealth has paid a total of P9.408 billion in benefits representing some 988,000 claims filed by elderly members nationwide.
Among the top medical conditions paid by PhilHealth were community-acquired pneumonia, hypertension, cerebral infarction or stroke, urinary tract infection, and congestive heart failure.