PhilHealth Circular 3 in 2014 is all about Strengthening the Implementation of the No Balance Billing (NBB) Policy. But the policy itself was first implemented in 2011. The policy “provides that no other fees or expenses shall be charged or be paid for by the indigent patients above and beyond the packaged rates“.
According to the circular, the NBB patients are the indigents, sponsored members, and household help.
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The indigent is referred to as “a person who has no visible means of income, or whose income is insufficient for family subsistence, as identified by the DSWD based on specific criteria set for this purpose in accordance with the guiding principles set forth in Article I of the National Health Insurance Act of 2013.”
The sponsored member is “a member whose contribution is being paid by another individual, government agency, or private entity according to the rules as may be prescribed by the Corporation.”
The Household Help is defined in the Republic Act 10361 or “Kasambahay Law”.
The DOH has also explained and educated Facebook users through their official page by posting this:
To learn more about this policy and know if you qualify under it, you might want to look at this document, too.
All these prove that Roxas was indeed right in claiming that a zero-based billing policy is already available to Filipinos who are in dire medical need.
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