Mandatory Philhealth Coverage of Senior Citizens

I was at my parents' house this morning when their senior citizen barangay coordinator came to update them of their contributions. I heard them discussing about the mandatory Philhealth coverage of senior citizens. Lola Coordinator (I forgot her name) said that all senior citizens are automatically enrolled as members. They only have to show an ID that will prove they are senior citizens, and they can receive from the hospital the corresponding benefits due PhilHealth members. This is good news that they'll have their own health insurance. Malaking tulong. No need to go to Philhealth office. However, I'm not quite satisfied with this bahala na remark that at the hospital they just have to show up with their ID and no need to formally register at Philhealth. It will be more prone to fraudulence if without a master list of certified members. According to reports, there are approximately 6.1 million senior citizens in the country. On the second thought, nadadaya rin naman ng mga kurakot kahit sa anong paraan. 

The Mandatory Philhealth Coverage of Senior Citizens was authored (Republic Act 10645) by  Senator Ralph Recto and was recently approved ( Nov.5 2014) by Pres. Noy Aquino. The necessary funds will be sourced from the National Health Insurance Fund of PhilHealth, which is from proceeds of RA 10351 or the Sin Tax Reform Act of 2012.

So to satisfy my curiosity, I went to our local Philhealth office. According to the desk officer whom I spoke to (these were her exact words), " Ma,am currently po wala pa po kami memo galing sa main office. Pinirmahan palang po ni Pnoy. Wala pa pong instruction kung pwede na magprocess ng membership. For the meantime po, paki-accomplish po itong PMRF (Philhealth Member Registration Form v. Oct 2013) at 1 photocopy po ng senior citizen ID. Standby po muna dito sa office. Balik na lang po kayo for update." I then asked if it's already implemented in Manila. " Hindi pa po Ma'am, buong bansa po hindi pa po nagpaprocess. Kaya po kung ma-ospital ang senior family member ninyo ngayon, ang processing po natin ay by dependency." By dependency (from Philhealth website): 

• Parents who are sixty (60) years old or above, not otherwise an enrolled member, whose monthly income is below an amount to be determined by PhilHealth in accordance with the guiding principles set forth in the NHI Act of 2013; and,
• Parents with permanent disability regardless of age as determined by PhilHealth, that renders them totally dependent on the member for subsistence.

 So as of this writing, Philhealth is not yet implementing this law. Here is an up-to-date Philhealth Case Rate for a reference. 
I told my parents to take good care of their health. Huwag na sana nating subukan pa kung maganda talaga itong service na to.