With more than 100% of Cebu’s poor now enjoying free health insurance coverage, the province exceeded enrollment target of poor families under PhilHealth’s Sponsored Program. As of September this year, local governments in Cebu have subsidized the health insurance premium of 187,884 poor families. This is 20% more than the number of listed poor families in the province (excluding highly-urbanized cities) as per recent National Statistics Coordination Board (NSCB) data.
According to PhilHealth regional vice president William O. Chavez, Cebu now has the highest number of poor families enrolled under the Sponsored Program among all provinces nationwide. Governor Gwendolyn Garcia’s partnership with PhilHealth is pivotal in broadening the health insurance coverage of Cebu’s poor. PhilHealth social insurance officer Dundee Roble said, over 70% of the total enrollment in Cebu is through the sponsorship of the provincial government alone.
Cebu local chief executives and 2nd district representative Pablo Garcia are credited for the rest of the sponsorship. Governor Garcia urged Cebu mayors to partner with her in implementing the Sponsored Program. With all component cities in the province adopting the program, the governor’s influence proved very tangible. Even Mandaue, a highly-urbanized city, partnered with the governor in enrolling poor families under the program. Currently, 6,310 poor families have health insurance coverage, which is also more than 100% the city’s poor population.
