• CHERYL G. CRUZ
While 3,144,154 out of the 3,247,629 projected population of Negros Occidental, including Bacolod City, are registered PhilHealth members and dependents, only 293,506, or 9.04 percent, are enrolled in the YAKAP, or the Yaman ng Kalusugan Program of PhilHealth, as of July 31.
The province has the lowest YAKAP registration in Western Visayas, while Antique logged the highest at 23.52 percent, PhilHealth Region 6 Public Affairs Unit head Janimhe Jalbuna said in a presser Aug. 27 in Bacolod City.
She added that regionwide, YAKAP registration was only 12.79 percent, or 1,044,548 out of the 8.1 million projected population.
Jalbuna and other officials called on PhilHealth members in Negros and Western Visayas to make sure that they and their dependents are also registered in the YAKAP.
Being a PhilHealth member does not mean automatic registration to YAKAP. Each PhilHealth member and his or her dependent/s also needs to enroll in the program, which is the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.’s responsive and evolving primary care benefit package.
Those registered in the YAKAP can avail of free services, like consultations, laboratory tests, and cancer screenings, and access of up to P20,000 worth of free outpatient medicines each beneficiary per year, under the GAMOT (Guaranteed and Accessible Medications for Outpatient Treatment) program.
There are 45 GAMOT pharmacies across Negros Occidental, Jalbuna said although a YAKAP beneficiary can access medicines from any accredited provider in any part of the country so long as the P20,000 limit annually is not reached.
Negrense beneficiaries can also choose from any of the 62 YAKAP clinics accredited by PhilHealth in Bacolod and Negros Occidental to access the healthcare benefits. | CGC
