How To Get A Philhealth ID Card
Phihealth is the Philippine’s universal health insurance, designed to address the medical and financial woes of every Filipino. While everyone in the country is entitled to their financial assistance, becoming a member and having full access to their comprehensive healthcare services and facilities is voluntary. Being a member of this health insurance provider helps a lot not only in medical matters for the principal members, but it also extends health coverage to their qualified beneficiaries and dependents.
To have the convenience of using Philhealth’s benefits whenever and wherever (in the Philippines) you may need it, getting a Philheath ID card is a must. Registration for a Philhealth membership may be enough to get you covered by their health insurance, but their facilities and benefits may not be easily accessible if you don’t have an ID. Being a member and paying your monthly premium does not automatically grant you a Philhealth ID card. The process of acquiring it is separate from acquiring a membership for their health insurance.
Two types of Philhealth ID Card
There are two types of Philhealth ID card that members can get. While each card can serve the same purpose (show proof of membership for the enrolled members), the extent of their usability is different.
Regular Philhealth ID
This is a paper ID that you can be acquired from any Philhealth Local Health Insurance Office (LHIO). It is given to Philhealth members without any fees and can be used at any hospitals to subsidize their hospital expenses. Despite being acknowledged as an official ID card of Philhealth, this ID card cannot be used as a valid ID for other government or banking transactions. Having this card will only provide access to Philhealth’s basic services and in filing insurance claims at any public and some private hospitals.
PhilHealth Insurance ID Card
The second ID is the PhilHealth Insurance ID Card. It’s a digitized ID issued to all registered members of Philhealth. Getting this card is optional and can cost some fees, but it has more use than the regular ID card. The downside to this is that it’s not yet available for distribution in all regions. You may want to check with your LHIO to see if it’s already available in your area.
Benefits of owning a Philheath insurance card
- Apart from hospital discounts, members with a PhilHealth Insurance ID Card can get access to the following money saving deals exclusive to Philhealth members:
- 15% discount on generic drugs on Watson’s, Rose Pharmacy, South Star Drug, and The Generics Pharmacy
- 20% to 80% discount on flu vaccines on PQ Health Shield and GSK
- Free eye exam from Vivian Sarabia Optical
- 20% discount on regular items in Vivian Sarabia Optical
- 10% discount on drug testing services at JNW Drug Testing sites
- This PhilHealth ID can be used as a valid government ID, making it acceptable for any official banking and government transactions.
- Dependents can use this card to take advantage of the discounts when buying medicines in affiliated pharmacies.
Regular Philhealth ID vs Philhealth insurance card
| Valid id | ||
| Access to discounts | ||
| Can be used for hospitalization | ||
| Can be used by dependents | ||
| No additional fees to process |
How do I get a Philhealth ID?
The process of getting a Philhealth ID is separate from membership application. Being enrolled in Philhealth only grants you a Philhealth number which you can provide to healthcare providers for insurance assessment. If you are not registered yet, check out our guide to Philhealth’s registration process.
If you are a regular employee of a company, your human resource department is required to accomplish your PhilHealth membership for you. However, unemployed, self-employed, and probationary employees or individuals need to register as a “Voluntary Member” to receive a PhilHealth ID and avail of the organization’s benefits.
If you’re already a registered Philhealth member, here’s what you can do next:
Philhealth regular ID card
1.) Download Philhealth’s registration form from their website (PMRF).
2.) Submit PMRF to the nearest LHIO together with the following documents:
- Two (2) 1×1 latest ID picture,
- Two valid IDs; and
- Any of the following documents:
- For SSS pensioners
- Photocopy of Death, Disability and Retirement (DDR) indicating the date of retirement and effectivity date of pension
- Photocopy of the Retiree/Pensioner Certification indicating the effectivity date of retirement
- For GSIS pensioners
- Photocopy of Certification/Letter of Approval of Retirement indicating the effectivity date of retirement
- Photocopy of Service Record issued by the employer showing rendered services of not less than 120 months
- Photocopy of Certification/Retirement Gratuity from the employer indicating services of not less than 120 months
- Photocopy of retirement voucher issued by GSIS
- For Uniformed personnel of AFP, PNP, BJMP and BFP
- Photocopy of General/Special or Bureau Order indicating effectivity date of retirement
- Photocopy of Certification/Letter of Approval of Retirement from the GSIS indicating services of not less than 120 months
- Photocopy of Statement of Services issued by previous employer showing service of not less than 120 months
- GSIS Disability Pensioner / SSS Permanent Total Disability Pensioner before March 4, 1995
- Photocopy of Death, Disability and Retirement (DDR) indicating the date of retirement and effectivity date of pension
- Photocopy of Disability Pensioner Certification issued by SSS/GSIS indicating effectivity date of pension or the period of coverage for disabled pensioner.
- SSS Survivorship Pensioner before March 4, 1995
- Photocopy of Death, Disability and Retirement indicating the type of survivorship in nature and the effectivity date of pension
- Photocopy of Survivorship Pensioner Certification indicating the effectivity date of pension
- Other individuals who are not under the abovementioned categories
- Photocopy of official receipts of premium payments to PhilHealth
- Any other documents indicating the months of premium payments to PhilHealth
- For SSS pensioners
- Await Member Data Record (MDR) and PhilHealth ID Card
Philhealth insurance card
After you’ve accomplished the process above, you just need to do a few things to get the Philhealth insurance card.
1.) Download Philhealth’s registration form from their website (PMRF).
2.) Submit PMRF to the nearest LHIO or any of their SM Mall branches together with the following documents:
- Two (2) 1×1 latest ID picture,
- Two valid IDs; and Photocopy of official receipts of premium payments to PhilHealth or any other documents indicating the months of premium payments to PhilHealth.
- Twp (2) vaid IDs of your dependent (if you wish to include them).
3.) Declare your dependents to apply for maximum benefits. (if applicable)
4.) Pay ₱90 for the ID; ₱358 additional payment if you wish to include your dependents.
While having a Philhealth ID card isn’t required to gain access to Philhealth’s services, owning one will make it easier for healthcare establishments to accomplish your insurance claims request. Meanwhile, spending a little more for the the digital Philhealth insurance card and exerting a little more effort to comply with the application process will allow you to have full access to Philhealth’s perks and other benefits that regular card holders don’t have access to. The perks may come in handy for people who have maintenance medication as it will cut down the cost of their medicine if they buy it from any of Philhealth’s accredited pharmacies.
Just by owning any of the two Philhealth ID cards, you can easily take comfort in the fact that your security is literally at the palm of your hands whenever a medical emergency may arise. So, if you don’t have one yet, you might as well get one!
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