FEBRUARY of each year marks the country’s observance of National Health Insurance (NHI) Month by virtue of Presidential Proclamation 1400, series 2007 that underlines the important role of social health insurance in every Filipino’s life.
As a social health insurance scheme, the NHI program is a form of financing and managing health care, based primarily on risk pooling.
The NHI program is guided by the principle of social solidarity or community spirit, where risks are shared among income groups, age groups, persons of differing health status and those residing in different geographic areas. This solidarity principle is best exemplified by the spirit of bayanihan (community cooperation)
The bayanihan spirit is best demonstrated in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) program where the young help the old, the healthy subsidize the sick, those earning more support those who earn less, and the able sponsor the poor and vulnerable sectors such as senior citizens and persons with disabilities.
Being the administrator of the NHI program as provided for in Republic Act 7875 as amended, PhilHealth spearheads the nation’s observance in parallel with its 28th anniversary on February 14. The theme for this year, “Pinalawak at mga Bagong Benepisyo para sa Mamamayang Filipino,” amplifies its commitment to continuously expand and make benefits even more responsive to the changing medical care needs of the Filipino people.
To further raise awareness on NHI Month, PhilHealth is spearheading low profile but high impact activities such as a press conference to announce new and expanded health care benefits.
