‘Informal sector’ may avail of Philhealth benefits after 3-month contribution

MANILA, Philippines—Three months of payment contributions—and not nine months—are now all some PhilHealth members and their dependents need to avail of certain benefits.

This was the announcement of PhilHealth president and chief executive officer Alexander Padilla in a statement circulated to reporters at the Fernandina forum in San Juan City on Wednesday.

According to the statement, the required period of payment for informal sector members and their qualified dependents to avail of certain health benefits was shortened after the implementing rules and regulations of the National Health Insurance Act of 2013 took effect on Sunday.

Sunday marked the 15th day since the IRR were published in newspapers of general circulation, the statement said.

According to Padilla, informal sector members who lack the three months “of qualifying contributions” will still be “eligible to benefits if they pay the whole year of their premium contributions.”

Padilla urged accredited medical institutions to observe the new eligibility rules, which he said were part of efforts to make PhilHealth benefits more accessible to Filipinos.

The benefits these specific members could avail of were, however, not mentioned in the statement.