16 million poor people granted health insurance cards

A policy supporting poor people and vulnerable groups in medical check-ups and treatment has seen progresses with some 16 million poor people being provided with health insurance cards so far.

 

According to the Ministry of Health (MoH), 60 percent of the country's population had possessed health insurance cards by early 2011.

 

The MoH said it has suggested health insurance payment policy for all traffic accident patients regardless of their violations of traffic laws or not.

 

Under its proposal to the Ministry of Finance, the MoH said once approved, the policy will help solve difficulties for traffic accident victims in proving their eligibility to health insurance interests

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In a state of insurance 'limbo'

During the school year, Nikki Boudreau has access to health care through California State University, Stanislaus, where she's a senior. But come summertime, and during school breaks, she is uninsured.

 

Under federal health care reform, young people up to the age of 26 can be insured through their parents' health plans. But that only works if their parents have health insurance. The 22-year-old art student isn't so lucky.

 

Her father worked in home improvement until the housing bubble burst. Her mother did child care. Neither is insured. So Boudreau is on her own.
BA Health Care Boudreau 5 BA Health Care Boudreau 4 BA Health Care Boudreau 3 BA Health Care Boudreau 2
Modesto Bee - - Nikki Boudreau working at the Cal State University, Stanislaus Planned Parenthood booth at CSUS, Monday afternoon. Boudreau is a 22-year-old CSUS student who has no health insurance. Boudreau hands out free condoms to Luis Fuentes and German Lopez. February 14, 2011

 

  

 

Growing up in Fremont, Boudreau says she spent many of her teenage years uninsured. She didn't see the eye doctor. She didn't see the dentist. When a filling fell out, she spent a year refilling it with temporary filler.

 

"You just go a long time trying to patch things up and hope they don't get worse," she said.

 

When she was 19, Boudreau got so sick she ended up in the emergency room. In the end, that health scare was "an unexpected blessing," she said. While in the hospital, she found out she was eligible for Medi-Cal.

 

Over the next year, she caught up on all kinds of care. She had her wisdom teeth pulled. She got glasses.

 

But on her 21st birthday, she says, she rejoined the ranks of the uninsured.

 

"Now it's like, 'I hope I don't get a toothache. I hope I don't get into an accident,' " she said, "Because I'd have to pay out of pocket."

 

A few years ago, Boudreau went to Planned Parenthood for birth control, and discovered she also was eligible for Family PACT — California's program to provide reproductive health and family planning services to the low-income, uninsured and working poor.

 

Now, she can get annual exams and help with limited other health problems at the clinic. She's so grateful for that assistance, she does outreach for Planned Parenthood around campus.

 

"I think there's a lot of people who are in their mid-20s who are kind of in limbo. I meet people all the time who haven't been to the dentist for years, all sorts of things," she said. "It's horrible."

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Imported goods and insurance

As the rand fluctuates, you might want to look into the replacement value of any imported goods you may have -- Italian tiles and carpets, for example, or a Miele kitchen (which can cost R500 000 to install).

 

A fluctuation in the exchange rate on half a million rand can end up being a huge difference when it comes to replacing expensive goods that have been imported.

 

Christelle Fourie, managing director of MUA Insurance Acceptances, says that although it's not practical for you to revalue the contents of your home every time the rand dips or rises, it's a good idea if there's been a sustained period of rand strength or weakness.

 

"Consumers sometimes forget that it is more expensive to buy certain electronic equipment in South Africa than overseas, simply due to the import costs. However, doing a straight rand/dollar conversion is not adequate to determine the replacement cost here in South Africa, so it's essential that one has a proper valuation done," she advises.

 

She also says that jewellery needs to be adequately insured for its replacement value, as there are differences in this segment that also need to be taken into account.

 

"In the case of antique jewellery and other rare items it is not always possible to actually replace the item in South Africa, particularly when it comes to period jewellery," she says, advising consumers to have an accurate, up-to-date valuation certificate handy, which includes the date at which the valuation was undertaken, the rand-to-dollar rate and the gold price in dollars at the time of the valuation.

 

Keep all slips as proof of payment and make sure items have been declared at customs or claims may not be accepted.

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Nurses under RN HEALS get health insurance

BORONGAN, E. Samar - Feb. 21(PIA) To ensure the nurses' security, the Department of Health (DOH) in the province made enrolment to health insurance a priority for the nurses it recruited to the Registered Nurses for Health Enhancement Local Services (RN HEALS) Program.

According to Alexi Abellar, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Provincial Head, the 170 nurses assigned to 23 municipalities in the province will be enrolled to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation.

"We know that there are risks in this kind of job and we want to make sure we give the assistance necessary to help them," Abellar said in an interview with Radyo ng Bayan DYES-Borongan.

The DOH has shouldered the cost of the nurses' health insurance for the duration of the program.

Aside from this, the nurses will also receive an P8,000 allowance every month.

Angeline Norcio, one of the nurses in the program, expressed elation over the benefits the government agencies bundled for them in the program.

Maslog Mayor Septimio Santiago of Maslog town confirmed that if the nurses perform well, his Local Government Unit (LGU) is willing to add a reasonable amount to the allowance.

Vernard Pinanggay of PhilHealth said that the nurses can enjoy the benefits of their health insurance in three months.

The nurses were deployed to their assigned towns on February 14, 2011 after a two-day orientation.

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86,000 employees of 2,200 employers passed required insurance at work in Azerbaijan

Baku, Fineko/abc.az. Over the last 1/5 month of implementation of the Law on Compulsory Insurance against Industrial Accidents and Occupational Diseases, three specialized life insurance companies in Azerbaijan have managed to ensure insurance of about 85,724 workers of 2,236 employers in the total amount of 942 manats.

 

At today's press conference in Baku a member of the Qala Sigorta Board of Directors, Vusal Abbasov, has informed the Company has signed about 900 contracts for insurance of about 50,000 workers.

 

"The premium on these agreements reached approximately 300,000 manats," Abbasov said.

 

Ateshgah Heyat's deputy chairman of board Akbar Madatli says that their Company has entered into 1,316 contracts for insurance of about 30,724 employees, and fees totaled about 542,000 manats.

 

PASHA Heyat's deputy chairman of board Niyaz Ismailov has said, in turn, that although their Company started operating on 14 February 2011, it already has agreements with 20 employers for insurance of up to 5,000 workers. The premiums amounted to 100,000 manats.

 

State Labour Inspectorate under the Ministry of Labour & Social Protection estimates that at least 1.5 million employees of about 400,000 employers are subjected to insurance. Expected premiums on them are expected to reach 30-40 million manats.

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