2015, February 14. Philippine Health Insurance Corporation
(PhilHealth), 20th Anniversary
Litho Offset, Amstar Company, Inc.,
Perf 14
Singles, Sheets of 40
10p PhilHealth Anniversary Logo - Singles (104,000)
Layout Artist: Vic Serevo
First Day Covers: Manila
Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) - 20th
Anniversary
"Ensuring Universal Coverage for All Filipinos"
THE call to serve the rural indigents echoed since the early '60s
when the Philippine Medical Association introduced the MARIA Project
which prioritized aid to communities in need of medical assistance.
The Project would then be considered a valuable precursor to the
Medicare program, from which a medical care plan for the entire
Philippines was created. On August 4, 1969, Republic Act 6111 or the
Philippine Medical Care Act of 1969 was signed by President
Ferdinand E. Marcos which was eventually implemented in August 1971.
The Philippine Medical Care Commission (PMCC) was tasked to oversee
the implementation of the program which went for almost a quarter of
a century.
In the 1990s, a vision for a better, more responsive government
health care program was prompted by the passage of several bills
that had significant implications on health financing. The public's
clamor for a health insurance that is more comprehensive in terms of
covered population and benefits led to the development of House Bill
14225 and Senate Bill 01738 which became The National Health
Insurance Act of 1995 or Republic Act 7875, signed by President
Fidel V. Ramos on February 14, 1995. The law paved the way for the
creation of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth),
mandated to provide social health insurance coverage to all
Filipinos in 15 years' time.
PhilHealth assumed the responsibility of administering the former
Medicare program for government and private sector employees from
the Government Service Insurance System in October 1997, from the
Social Security System in April 1998, and from the Overseas Workers
Welfare Administration in March 2005.
http://www.philhealth.gov.ph/about_us/history.htm