The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) said that the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) can still file for reimbursements even if he or she is hospitalized abroad.
“If an OFW that is confined in a hospital abroad, he or she can claim for reimbursement with the hospital expenses here in the Philippines. All that are needed are documents pertaining to the hospitalization of that OFW,” PhilHealth executive vice president and chief operating officer Eli Santos said in a report on GMA News.
Philhealth said most of the time, families of OFWs benefit from the Philhealth contribution of overseas workers.
The state insurer has yet to provide details on how many OFWs have already submitted their claims for reimbursement in the country.
Senator Raffy Tulfo believes that philhealth contributions for OFWs should remain voluntary.
“I believe that we should exempt migrant workers from the requirement to pay contributions to PhilHealth. These workers are paying something that does not fully address their healthcare needs due to the nature of their work and their status as overseas workers. This is simply unacceptable,” he said.
“We have to remember that these workers are the breadwinners of their families… ‘Yung halagang P8,700 na annual contributions sa PhilHealth ay marahil maliit sa nakakarami, pero mabigat na talaga ‘yun sa kanila tapos ibibigay pa sa PhilHealth,” Tulfo added.
Senator JV Ejercito is proposing for the government to subsidize half of the Philhealth contribution for OFWs.
“Kalahati na lang ang babayaran ng OFW, kalahati will be subsidized by the government. ‘Yan ang nakikita kong compromise. Pag-a-aralan natin kung kaya,” he said.
Ejercito is holding a hearing on the proposed amendment on Universal Health Care.
“We will have the balance. Pag-uusapan pa natin. Mahabang usapan pa ito,” he added.
