The Philippine government plans to provide insurance, housing, and other benefits for healthcare workers to encourage them to stay in the country and help address the shortage of health workers.
According to Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa in a Palace press briefing, the Philippines lacks 190,000 health workers.
He said that the Department of Health (DOH) is working with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to provide health insurance to medical workers.
“So may subsidy na ibibigay, maliit lang pero it will allow them to get health insurance for themselves and even their family. So may PhilHealth na sila, they can get a health insurance,” he said.
Apart from the insurance, the DOH is also working with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development and the Pag-IBIG Fund with the hopes of providing health workers with housing benefits.
Herbosa said that these benefits would hopefully encourage health workers to stay in the country instead of working abroad.
“I’m asking the nurses to choose the Philippines,” he said.
