Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will formalize their partnership to provide and secure health care for the poor as they sign the Joint Order on November 6, 2012 at the Shangri-la Hotel in Mandaluyong City. The Joint Order will benefit more than five million households identified as poor based on the National Household Targeting System (NHTS) and the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.

The signing of the Joint Order will be attended by Dr. Eduardo P. Banzon, President and Chief Executive Officer of PhilHealth, and Cabinet Secretaries of DSWD and Department of Health (DOH), Corazon Juliano-Soliman and Dr. Enrique T. Ona, respectively.

“With the inclusion of health insurance as added benefit, PhilHealth’s support to this program essentially adds another P to the 4Ps which stands for PhilHealth (supports) Pantawid Pamilya,” said Dr. Banzon. He further added that the move promotes the government’s Universal Health Care program which brings back dignity to our marginalized fellowmen.

Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries shall be afforded with PhilHealth coverage as Sponsored Members wholly financed by tax money and which is valid until December 2013. They will be issued their Member Data Record and PhilHealth Identification Number which will serve as their pass when availing of health care benefits at any accredited hospitals in the country.

Secretary Soliman said that the Joint Order is another milestone in the partnership for the implementation of the Pantawid Pamilya. This is to ensure that the beneficiaries receive appropriate and immediate medical care and attention without having to worry about financial constraints. Secretary Soliman also said “This revitalized partnership again seals our unwavering commitment to improve the conditions of poor families particularly the children so they are provided with equal opportunities for growth and development.”

Pantawid Pamilya is a human development program of the national government that invests in the health and education of poor households particularly of children aged 0-14 year old. Households are provided with cash grants in exchange of complying with the conditionality of the program. This includes pre and post-natal care for pregnant mothers, immunization and preventive health care for children aged 0-5 years old, deworming for children aged 6-14 years old at least twice a year, attendance to day care and elementary schools for children aged 3-5 years old and 6-14 years old respectively.

To date, there are already 3,085,798 households benefiting from the program. ###