Guimaras, a newly created province in Western Visayas is
one of the poorest provinces in the country with 75% of
its 130,000 population living below the poverty line. Its
residents suffered from high costs of health care, inadequate
health facilities and the absence of private hospitals.
To address the health problems, the province implemented
a comprehensive health care program composed of preventive/promotive
health (primary health care); curative health where cases
needing further intervention were referred to physicians
and hospitals; and rehabilitative health.
Part of the curative component
was the health insurance project which aimed to provide
adequate, affordable and accessible medical care services
to the low income residents consisting of a comprehensive
coverage (hospitalization, medicines, routine laboratory
examination and professional fees), health information,
and education. All the five municipalities in the province
forged an agreement with the provincial government to pay
its share of P15 out of P100 annual premium and to subsidize
the premium of five indigents per municipality. The province
paid P25 and the remaining P60 was paid by the beneficiaries.
This partial subsidy was temporary until the indigents and
the poor families were able to pay the full premium.
To support its health insurance
program, the province renovated and expanded the provincial
hospital. The whole provincial hospital complex was thoroughly
cleaned making it the cleanest public hospital in the Western
Visayas region. Hospital laboratory services and additional
medical equipment and medical beds were acquired. In addition,
the province secured a water ambulance, land ambulances
and communication equipment linking the remotest barangays
with the hospital to immediately respond to any medical
emergencies. To further make quality health care accessible,
an extension of the provincial hospital was established
in Buenavista, another municipality.
After four years of implementation,
the program enrolled 15,155 members with an average of four
dependents per member, representing around 85 percent of
the potential beneficiaries. The members included small
farmers, marginalized fishers and other self-employed workers.
Around P2 million premium fees was collected vis-à-vis
a P1M benefit claim. The program has served 4.17 % of its
members who would otherwise not have been provided with
hospital care. The program has assured the poorest access
to hospital care.
