Baguio Teachers Camp cited as 1st facility accredited for home isolation

The Cordillera office of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC-CAR) gave recognition to the Baguio City government for establishing the first facility to be accredited for home isolation for Corona Virus Disease (COVID) 2019 patients, particularly the Baguio Teachers Camp.

Dr. Dominga A. Gadgad, PhilHealth-Cordillera regional vice president, stated that the Baguio Teachers Camp was the first facility established to be accredited by the State health insurance corporation to serve as a home isolation for confirmed COVID-19 patients.

The awarding of the recognition was done simultaneously with the celebration of PhilHealth of its 27th founding anniversary.

Gadgad expressed the corporation’s gratitude to the city government for its unending support in the government’s anti-COVID-19 response and for providing the support personnel to help PhilHealth process the numerous claims for reimbursement.

For the past 27 years, she stated that the corporation had witnessed stakeholder relationships blossom into fruitful partnerships such as its alliance with local governments, health care providers, public and private organizations among others, all with the end goal of uplifting the health care status of the people.

According to her, PhilHealth officials and employees are grateful for the strong partnership that the corporation was able to establish with its partners over the years.

However, Gadgad admitted that the recent years have crippled the State insurance corporation due to the pandemic but it has not taken the best of PhilHealth to be true to its mandate of providing accessible, available and affordable benefit packages, especially to the most vulnerable and underserved.

The PhilHealth-CAR official stipulated that the fast-changing times and the challenges brought to the fore have stirred the corporation to develop COVID-19 benefit packages as an assurance that in any stage of the member’s COVID-19 affliction, they are protected.

Further, Gadgad revealed that the COVID-19 benefit packages, namely the in-patient benefit package, testing package, community isolation package, vaccine injury compensation package and the home isolation benefit package are the corporation’s response that realize the agency’s non-negotiable duty to the public.

With the accreditation of the city’s first facility for home isolation of COVID-19 patients, Gadgad said that the Baguio Teachers Camp isolation unit can now cater to the isolation requirements of mild and asymptomatic patients and their dependents who are mandated to be isolated to their homes.

She clarified that the benefit package will be paid to the facility and not to the members and that the members and their dependents will be taken care of by the personnel of the facility in the comfort of their homes and for them to think of getting well and going back to work.

Gadgad underscored that PhilHealth is looking forward towards bringing better financial risk protection with the universal health care program governing the corporation’s services.

She assured the members and their dependants of quality services as they face the challenges of the prevailing difficult times for them to be able to embrace the better normal way of life. – Dexter A. See