Be Secured, Be Insured: Take the ER Vantage

If there is one thing I dread to hear at any given time, it’s an emergency call from someone dear to me. Well, who does not?

Merriam-Webster.com defines emergency as a serious, unexpected, and often dangerous situation requiring immediate action. As you can see, even the dictionary sounds a bit nervous describing it. 

Kidding aside, emergency situation is something I take seriously. That’s why I see to it that I am secured, or should I say, insured at all times. Just to make sure that I am covered if in case accidents come. This will also take away any burden from my family financially if I’ll be required to be hospitalized.

In both my personal and professional journey, Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) has been dependable partners to me, my family, loved ones, friends and colleagues. HMO Philippines are life savers that we can lean on for basic medical expenses and outpatient care, medical treatment and hospitalization. This is something that employees should be thankful for if their organization gives such benefit because not all employers provide this to their workers, aside from the government health insurance plan provided by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).

I just hope that companies would realize that HMO Philippines insurance plans are not mere expenses but instead, they’ll look at it as a good investment. A healthy and happy employee will work hard for organizations that take care of them and their families.

I am sharing my personal experience about our company’s health insurance provider Philcare. I underwent a medical procedure last December. Since the clinic I went to was not accredited by Philcare, I just paid in cash. After the holiday season, I filled out some documents and reimbursement claim form from Philcare and in a month’s time, I got my money back sent as a check straight to my office without me needing to call for follow-up. Bottom line is, Philcare has been my dependable ally for years now.    

That’s why I want my family to enjoy the same experience I get from this trusted company which I just found out is a pioneer and a recognized leader in the HMO industry in the country for more than three decades now.

PhilCare sets the pace for the HMO industry not only with the reliable in-patient and out-patient health care it provides, but also with the total wellness and healthy living it actively promotes.  One of their product innovations that I discovered are the ER Vantage prepaid cards for one-time use emergency care leading to admission health card for individuals 6 months to 64 years old.  It can use one-time for a private room. The card covers the patient’s emergency room care such as expenses for room and board, and necessary diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

I would like to believe that the ER Vantage card is PhilCare’s contribution to meet the healthy Filipino’s changing needs. PhilCare understands that being healthy means more than not getting sick; it also means getting you and your family prepared for any emergency.

The prices of the insurance packages are reasonable with prices. For a one-time payment of P900, P1,100, or P1,300, users can avail of P40,000.00 up to P80,000.00 worth of emergency hospitalization expenses.  Upon text registration, the card will be activated within a 7-day period. The benefit of the card runs for an entire year where the registered can avail of the emergency hospitalization at any of PhilCare’s affiliate hospitals and clinics nationwide.

Emergency cases covered by ER Vantage health cards are sudden, unexpected onset of illness or injury which at the time of availment reasonably appeared as having the potential of causing immediate disability or death or requiring immediate alleviation of severe pain or discomfort. Examples of these are dengue, typhoid fever, leptospirosis, pneumonia, acute gastroenteritis.

The bestseller among the packages is ER Vantage 80 which offers the following benefits:

a.   P80,000 coverage for emergency room care and hospitalization inclusive of doctors’ fees, laboratory and diagnostic procedures, room and board, and medicines (except vaccines) as medically necessary during confinement except for cases declared as non-coverable.

b.  Covers special modalities of treatment  as medically necessary during ER and confinement and subject to Php 5,000 inner limit.

c.  Inclusive of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures as medically necessary during ER and confinement.

d.  Covers hospital emergency care for animal bites except vaccines.

e.  Room and board: Private room.

f.  No hospital deposit required.

g.   Access to 400+ accredited hospitals nationwide (www.philcare.com.ph/erhospitals)

h.  No medical examination required to apply.

i.  Hassle-free SMS registration.


Here's a step-by-step direction on how to order a card online via www.philcare.com.ph.

Step 1: On the Philcare website, click the SHOP NOW tab.

Step 2: Browse to to the products available and click on the image of the one you would like to purchase online.

Step 3: Indicate the quantity of your order then click "Add to Cart"

Step 4. Click "Check Out" to finalize your order.

Step 5: Accomplished the online form for your delivery details.

Step 6: Choose your preferred payment option then click the "PURCHASE" button.

That easy! Now you will receive two notifications for a successful order. One will immediately appear on your screen and the other one will be emailed to you. Please see the screen shots below.

Delivery rates starts at P65 per order depending on your location. Please click HERE to see the full details of delivery fee and time frame. 

When is the best time to avail of the product? The answer is NOW! Don’t wait for any emergency to come and be sorry to find out that you are not prepared for it. 

Daddy, you have a tummy like Kung Fu Panda

I was minding my own business watching basketball on TV last Sunday night when my 6-year old son butted in, "Daddy, you have a tummy like Kung Fu Panda."

Charles must have been watching me caressing my just-had-dinner stomach while lying in bed.  I just smiled at my little boy and asked him to play outside the room with his cousins instead of staring at my belly.

How could this boy be that insensitive after bringing him to the special advance screening of Kung Fu Panda 3 at SM Megamall Imax Theater courtesy of the generous people from 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers, Dreamworks, Dream Play and WWF Philippines (I just have to thank them this way because we really had a great time last weekend).

That's my son (nope, not the Panda) with his newly-met friends during the advance screening of Kung Fu Panda 3 in 3D.

Just in case you don't know, Kung Fu Panda is one of the most successful animated film of all-time featuring the voice of ace comedian Jack Black as the clumsy yet heroic Panda named Po. For the third installment of the series, other Hollywood heavyweights were included in the cast namely Dustin Hoffman as Shifu; Angelina Jolie as Tigress; Jackie Chan as Monkey; Seth Rogen  as Mantis; Lucy Liu as Viper; Kate Hudson as Mei Mei; and a lot more.

Now, I'm starting to think the what my son said s actually a compliment. Imagine how many big stars were assembled just for a Panda film. Now here's one trivia you might want to know (no matter how useless it may sound): In the movie, Po is known as the Dragon Warrior. But did you know that Panda's has a list of aliases?  The Chinese call giant pandas daxiongmao or “large bear cat.” Pandas have also been known as “beast of prey,” “white leopard,” “iron eating beast,” and “bamboo bear.

Now, if you still have a few minute to spend reading, here are three more interesting Panda trivia that you can pass on to your child:

1. A panda mother is 900 times bigger than her newborn cub, which weighs less than 5 oz. In comparison, an 8-pound human baby would have a mother that weighed 7,200 pounds.

2. On average, a panda eats 25-30 pounds of bamboo in one day. In the spring, a panda may eat 100 pounds in a day.

3. Under its fur, the skin of a giant panda is black where its fur is black, and pink where its fur is white.

Coo, right? Anyways, just in case you want to catch Kung Fu Panda 3 in your favorite movie house, regular screening nationwide starts on March 9.

Panda trivia source: facts.randomhistory.com.