The Bacolod City Comprehensive Health Program (BacCHP) has two components, it provides preventive and curative assistance, Valerie Anne Hollero, city consultant for health insurance and health care, said on Friday, September 16.
In fact the city government is currently providing preventive assistance to 10,000 pre-screened residents from all barangays of Bacolod until September 30, she said.
Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez on Thursday stressed that the BacCHP will prioritize the poorest of the poor and will later be expanded to other sectors.
Hollero said for the preventive aspect, the BacCHP works with the City Health Office (CHO) in the implementation of PhilHealth’s e-Konsulta program, a primary care benefit package that provides members an annual consultation, limited laboratory service and maintenance medicines as part of the preventive aspect of the program.
BacCHP will provide the CHO with administrative and IT support to make sure that the required documentation is submitted to PhilHealth on time. BacCHP will also help card holders secure additional laboratory services required but not covered by eKonsulta, Hollero said.
During the launch of BacCHP in July, there was a 5-day medical mission for 3,000 patients with Dr. Minguita Padilla as guest lecturer, she said.
The organization that was contracted to do the medical mission had a box that was bundled with meters for uric, glucose, cholesterol, urine analysis and ECG that made data gathering faster and more efficient, Hollero said.
The mayor took interest in the efficiency of the system and is hoping to bring this to the barangay health stations in order to upgrade its services, she added.
The organization has lent its boxes to the city government and a sponsor has covered the cost for the consumables and medicines for 10,000 pre-screened residents from all barangays of Bacolod, she said.
The boxes will be transferred to different barangays depending on the availability of doctors from the CHO until September 30, she added.
Screening, which includes taking of data, vitals and medical history of patients, will be on-going in all barangay health stations until September 30 in preparation for next year’s full implementation of the eKonsulta program, Hollero said.
The curative component of the BacCHP is when patients are hospitalized, she said.
She said with the agreement signed by the mayor with the Metro Bacolod Hospital and Medical Center and South Bacolod General Hospital on Thursday, the hospitals have pledged a certain number of beds for indigent patients.
This will be covered by PhilHealth’s no balance billing and if additional resources are required, BacCHP will assist the patient in securing resources from various government agencies before the fund from the Bacolod City government is tapped, Hollero explained.*