Hello guys! So, how was your Lenten break or vacation? I hope everyone had a peaceful respite from the daily grind and managed to reflect or observe the Holy Week as solemnly as possible. Mine went well and I stayed home most of the time and went to church to attend the Lenten activities or rites.
It's back to work for me today and it's been a slow day so far so I took the opportunity to update this blog.
Early this morning, I texted a PLHIV-friend of mine to ask how he was and coincidentally, he was at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine-Aids Research Group (RITM-ARG) this morning for his regular lab tests (CD4 count, CBC, etc.) and he complained that he was informed only last Saturday, a non-working holiday, that he needs to submit or have Philhealth membership documents already for his lab tests. He was pissed off because he was only told about it last Saturday but how could he gather them when it was a holiday. So the nurse in-charge asked for the Philhealth documents when he went to RITM this morning and he explained that he could not submit them since he was notified only last Saturday. Good thing, he was allowed to take the lab tests and the Philhealth documents will just have to follow.
To backtrack a little, PLHIVs who are not taking ARVs like my friend are not covered by the Philhealth package for PLHIVs so they would have to pay for all the necessary tests like CD4, CBC, etc. I guess that policy has now changed because my friend is now required to submit Philhealth papers so his laboratory tests would be taken care of by the government agency-regardless of he/she is taking ARVs already.
Anyway, like all other PLHIVs who are enrolled at RITM and have previously complained of the shabby treatment from ARG staff and bad service they get from the RITM-ARG, my friend has decided that he wouldn't want to go through the same kind of situation next time and has decided on the spot that he will transfer to Philippine General Hospital (PGH)-Aids Research Group. He also said he has had enough of a nurse at RITM-ARG "who acts as if she owns RITM." As of my last text, he is gathering all his records to bring them to PGH already.
I can imagine the legwork and stress my friend went through this morning and in working on his transfer from RITM to PGH. Stress is a big no-no for PLHIVs.
With the bad experience of my friend, I hope I do not suffer the same at RITM-ARG when I go there for my CD4 and other so-called anniversary tests on April 11. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Showing posts with label philhealth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label philhealth. Show all posts
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
How do I explain my need for a CF1 document
Every three months or at regular intervals, PLHIVs like me who visit their government-run treatment hub (THs) need to present the Philhealth CF1 (Claim Form 1) to be able to avail of the OHAT package that Philhealth gives so as to get free antiretrovirals and undergo lab tests free of charge.
And a common predicament faced by PLHIVs who ask for it from their administrative or human resources department is how to explain why the need to secure the document.
Luckily for me, I head the administrative/HR department of our company so I just fill up the CF1 form and have it signed by our general manager. No questions asked of me but I tell my boss what the CF1 is for. But what about those who need to explain to their administrative or HR officers?
Here are 2 tips I can share:
*Explain that you are paying for the Philhealth contribution of a dependent (parent, unemployed sibling, wife or kid) so you need to get it every 3 months. I use this as reason.
*You need to present the CF1 form for your regular checkup. Ask your TH to make a document stating that you need to undergo a checkup every three months for a respiratory ailment or anything the doctor or TH staff can think of without giving away your HIV status.
I hope this can be of help to you out there who need a reason to explain the need for a CF1.
And a common predicament faced by PLHIVs who ask for it from their administrative or human resources department is how to explain why the need to secure the document.
Luckily for me, I head the administrative/HR department of our company so I just fill up the CF1 form and have it signed by our general manager. No questions asked of me but I tell my boss what the CF1 is for. But what about those who need to explain to their administrative or HR officers?
Here are 2 tips I can share:
*Explain that you are paying for the Philhealth contribution of a dependent (parent, unemployed sibling, wife or kid) so you need to get it every 3 months. I use this as reason.
*You need to present the CF1 form for your regular checkup. Ask your TH to make a document stating that you need to undergo a checkup every three months for a respiratory ailment or anything the doctor or TH staff can think of without giving away your HIV status.
I hope this can be of help to you out there who need a reason to explain the need for a CF1.
Monday, May 16, 2011
An open letter to Philhealth
Dear Philhealth,
Firstly, I'd like to think that persons living with HIV (PLHIVs) like me truly appreciate your gesture of taking care of/subsidizing the cost of antiretrovirals (ARVs) that many of us take and of certain laboratory tests that we need to undergo relative to our medical condition, especially with the approaching termination of the Global Fund's financing of the same by December 2012. It would be of great help to us - financially, that is.
But I have some gripes with the way your office is treating us PLHIVs, who do not deserve to be burdened with certain requirements and procedures that would only stress us out a lot. Do know that stress and/or depression is not good for those like me.
You have required PLHIVS still not taking ARVs to pay for the CD4 count, for example. Whether or not, they have Philhealth. A CD4 count in a certain treatment hub costs P3,000! That amount is too heavy for someone who is earning just the minimum wage or barely reaching minimum wage. What if a PLHIV cannot afford to take that count or some other lab tests because of lack of funds? He or she will never know the current status of his or her immuno-compromised health unless he or she undergoes the regular physical exams and lab tests.
Another predicament that PLHIVs face is having to ask our human resources (HR), administrative heads, or managers to sign the CF1 form, which we need to submit every time we get ARVs or every three months. The most common questions asked of us who ask our employers or company officers to sign the documents are: what is this for and why do we need to sign it? We are a loss on how to explain it. We cannot tell them we have HIV, right? Or that we need this document for our HIV treatment.
I have learned that doctors of designated treatment hubs and representatives of PLHIV groups have met Philhealth officers and asked if your office can accept payslips instead of the CF1 because of the difficulty faced by PLHIVs in having it signed. The payslips would show that the employed is a regular contributor to Philhealth anyway. But your office have reportedly turned down the suggestion saying that payslips can be faked. But your office can check with where the PLHIV is working to determine if he or she is indeed employed there as suggested also but your office said that it would entail lots of work and would be an additional burden on your part.
We have the option though to tell our company that we will personally take over paying our contributions directly to Philhealth in order to evade questions on the signing of the CF1 forms but that would be tedious for PLHIVs, knowing how slow procedures are when it comes to government office transactions.
Sigh.
So we PLHIVs have no choice but to submit the CF1 form, along with the MDR every three months, and face the scrutiny of our employers, even the risk of not having our CF1 forms signed unless we can adequately explain why and for what reason is it being submitted for their signature.
I wish your office can make it things easier for us PLHIVs. We already have this medical condition. It was a lapse in our personal judgment by not adhering to safe sex that is why we contracted HIV, but do we have to be "punished" like this by your office?
I hope more consideration would be given to us because the bottom-line here is: lives are at stake.
Yours truly,
R10-AAC of RITM/"Aries"
Firstly, I'd like to think that persons living with HIV (PLHIVs) like me truly appreciate your gesture of taking care of/subsidizing the cost of antiretrovirals (ARVs) that many of us take and of certain laboratory tests that we need to undergo relative to our medical condition, especially with the approaching termination of the Global Fund's financing of the same by December 2012. It would be of great help to us - financially, that is.
But I have some gripes with the way your office is treating us PLHIVs, who do not deserve to be burdened with certain requirements and procedures that would only stress us out a lot. Do know that stress and/or depression is not good for those like me.
You have required PLHIVS still not taking ARVs to pay for the CD4 count, for example. Whether or not, they have Philhealth. A CD4 count in a certain treatment hub costs P3,000! That amount is too heavy for someone who is earning just the minimum wage or barely reaching minimum wage. What if a PLHIV cannot afford to take that count or some other lab tests because of lack of funds? He or she will never know the current status of his or her immuno-compromised health unless he or she undergoes the regular physical exams and lab tests.
Another predicament that PLHIVs face is having to ask our human resources (HR), administrative heads, or managers to sign the CF1 form, which we need to submit every time we get ARVs or every three months. The most common questions asked of us who ask our employers or company officers to sign the documents are: what is this for and why do we need to sign it? We are a loss on how to explain it. We cannot tell them we have HIV, right? Or that we need this document for our HIV treatment.
I have learned that doctors of designated treatment hubs and representatives of PLHIV groups have met Philhealth officers and asked if your office can accept payslips instead of the CF1 because of the difficulty faced by PLHIVs in having it signed. The payslips would show that the employed is a regular contributor to Philhealth anyway. But your office have reportedly turned down the suggestion saying that payslips can be faked. But your office can check with where the PLHIV is working to determine if he or she is indeed employed there as suggested also but your office said that it would entail lots of work and would be an additional burden on your part.
We have the option though to tell our company that we will personally take over paying our contributions directly to Philhealth in order to evade questions on the signing of the CF1 forms but that would be tedious for PLHIVs, knowing how slow procedures are when it comes to government office transactions.
Sigh.
So we PLHIVs have no choice but to submit the CF1 form, along with the MDR every three months, and face the scrutiny of our employers, even the risk of not having our CF1 forms signed unless we can adequately explain why and for what reason is it being submitted for their signature.
I wish your office can make it things easier for us PLHIVs. We already have this medical condition. It was a lapse in our personal judgment by not adhering to safe sex that is why we contracted HIV, but do we have to be "punished" like this by your office?
I hope more consideration would be given to us because the bottom-line here is: lives are at stake.
Yours truly,
R10-AAC of RITM/"Aries"
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