DAVAO CITY – Senior citizens who are registering for their health cards should not entertain fixers, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) warned.
The PhilHealth on Thursday said senior citizens “must be vigilant of fixers who may be charging fees in exchange of their assistance”.
“In the first place, there really is no need to rush for enrollment since they can readily avail of PhilHealth benefits once they need it with or without a PhilHealth ID,” said Alexander A. Padilla, PhilHealth president and chief executive officer.
He said that senior citizens “just need to present their senior citizen card and we have already coordinated with our accredited health care providers about this matter”.
PhilHealth issued Circular 33, series of 2014 encouraging senior citizens to enroll with PhilHealth in coordination with their respective Office of Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) or through any office designated by the Local Government, in localities where they reside.
The PhilHealth also taps the Department of Social Welfare and Development, senior citizen organizations duly registered with appropriate national agency, any non-government organization or any non-profit private organizations to ensure coverage of senior citizens.
PhilHealth said, since the effectivity of the law on November 25, 2014, senior citizens are flocking to the Local Health Insurance Offices to enroll in the program which unfortunately creates an opportunity for fixers to capitalize on the vulnerability of some senior citizens.
