Lawmaker seeks two-year validity of gov't health cards

MANILA, Philippines - A lawmaker on Tuesday urged President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation to extend to two years the validity of PhilHealth cards to maximize its benefits for members. Rep. Thelma Z. Almario (2nd Dist., Davao Oriental, Lakas-CMD), author of House Resolution 254, said extending the PhilHealth cards' validity to two years from one year will save the government expenses attached to the annual renewal of the health cards. Almario said the application and procedure to acquire a PhilHealth card often takes as much as eight months, leaving a validity period of only four months for a member to enjoy its benefits. She said the benefits of PhilHealth cards in terms of medicine are only available in government-accredited hospitals. "There is a need for the government to economize the cost in processing PhilHealth membership applications and renewals of membership without sacrificing the benefits to its members," Almario said Almario said there are reports that some medicine are not available at pharmacies in PhilHealth-accredited government hospitals. "There is a need for the accreditation of privately-owned pharmacies so that PhilHealth members may buy medicines from them if these are not available in government-owned hospitals," she added. - D'Jay Lazaro, GMANews.TV