At least 2,620 members and dependents have registered with the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) Yaman ng Kalusugan (YAKAP) program in Silay City, Negros Occidental.

The additional registrants, who were listed through the 1,636 clients served, came during the two-day caravan on Sept. 15 and 17.

PhilHealth-Bacolod information officer Christine Mirano said on Friday they partnered with the local government unit (LGU) through the city’s Primary Care Facility (PCF) to bring PhilHealth services closer to Silaynons.

“The successful initiative helps more Negrenses access primary healthcare services,” she said in an interview.

PCF personnel provided first patient encounter services to members for them to access YAKAP primary care services.

The PhilHealth Local Health Insurance Office-Bacolod has been conducting registration caravans with LGUs since July to assign more members and dependents to their YAKAP provider of choice, bringing them one step closer to accessing quality and comprehensive primary healthcare services.

As of July 31, a total of 293,506 PhilHealth members and dependents in Negros Occidental were registered to YAKAP clinics, representing only 9.04 percent of the 3.25-million projected population.

The YAKAP primary care benefit includes free consultations, laboratory and diagnostic tests and 75 essential medicines under GAMOT (Guaranteed and Accessible Medications for Outpatient Treatment).

PhilHealth has accredited 62 YAKAP clinics as well as 45 GAMOT pharmacies in Negros Occidental. (PNA)