PhilHealth assures efforts ongoing to address Yakap concerns

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) on Thursday said efforts are already ongoing to address struggles in securing prescriptions through its Guaranteed and Accessible Medications for Outpatient Treatment (GAMOT) clinics under the Yaman ng Kalusugan Program (YAKAP).

PhilHealth made the pronouncement amid reports of members experiencing difficulties in getting their Gamot prescriptions at certain clinics under Yakap.

Yakap is an enhanced primary care benefit package that covers consultations, indicated laboratory and cancer screening tests, and prescribed essential medicines aimed at promoting prevention and early disease detection to help reduce members’ financial burden.

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“Our review shows that delays in access stem from administrative and readiness requirements that providers need to complete before they can provide Gamot prescriptions,” said the state insurer.

“While many of our Yakap Clinics are fully prepared, some still need time to finalize these processes,” it added.

Due to this, PhilHealth said it is already providing technical support and automated tools to prevent such difficulties from occurring.

The state insurer said it also started conducting onsite validation to ensure that every Yakap clinic is ready to serve members at all times.

Furthermore, PhilHealth said it also began monitoring compliance daily to allow the agency to step in immediately when issues arise.

It then called on members to call PhilHealth’s 24/7 Corporate Action Center at (02) 866-225-88, or at actioncenter@philhealth.gov.ph should issues continue to arise. /mr