BY CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
An ordinance establishing guidelines and procedures in the availment of Bacolod Comprehensive Health Program (BacCHP) was recently passed by the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod on first reading.
The ordinance said the BacCHP is a priority flagship program of the City of Bacolod which aims to maximize government resources for the implementation of adequate and responsive healthcare system in the city.
The program will support the implementation of an annual health check-up and regular distribution of free maintenance medicines in conjunction with the City Health Office through the preventive healthcare program of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), it said.
The program will optimize the service of private healthcare facilities for preventive and curative health care for all its members, the ordinance said.
The data privacy provisions under R.A. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2011 will be strictly complied with to ensure that the data privacy rights of BacCHP Family Health Card holders are respected and protected, it said.
The ordinance said a BacCHP Family cardholder will be entitled to a minimum of P15,000 that will serve as a grant for health related expenses. Provided that the grant will be used only after exhausting PhilHealth benefits, and other government health care grants/assistance.
The fund needed for the initial implementation of this ordinance in the amount of P80 million will be sourced from the Assistance to Individual in Crisis Situation (AICS) Fund, it added.
The ordinance was authored by Councilors Claudio Puentevella, Celia Flor, Jason Isidro Villarosa, Al Victor Espino, Psyche Marie Sy, Jude Thaddeus Sayson, Vladimir Gonzalez and Simplicia Distrito.*
