Rank-and-File Employees’ Awareness on the Programs and Services of a Social Health Insurance Corporation in the Philippines

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31098/issues.v3i2.1986

Keywords:

channels of communication, Philippines, programs and services, rank-and-file employees, social health insurance corporation, top queries

Abstract

The rank-and-file employees of the subject social health insurance corporation (SHIC) should comprehensively understand its program and services as they are expected to provide timely, accurate, and relevant information to the members. This study was conducted to determine the awareness of employees on the programs and services of a SHIC in the Philippines. It focused on three aspects: membership, contribution, and benefits availment. This study also looked into the top queries received by employees and the channel or medium of communication where they primarily received the information. This descriptive-quantitative research used a structured questionnaire distributed to the 186 SHIC employees (Job Grades 5-10) in the different sectors of the corporation. Findings revealed that SHIC employees are generally somewhat aware of the three aspects of SHIC's programs and services. It was also found that the level of awareness of employees does not vary across job grade classifications. The most frequent inquiries received by SHIC employees revolved around membership processes such as ID/MDR issuance, membership registration, updating of dependents, and understanding benefits and deductions. Lastly, official social media platforms, meetings, interaction with colleagues, and direct communication from SHIC representatives were the organization's primary sources of information.  The recommendations forwarded in this study can enhance SHIC's services aligned with its mission of providing accessible and affordable healthcare in the country.

References

Arokiasamy, A. R., & Tamah, A. (2021). Is there enough effort by corporations in Malaysia to promote ethical leadership and long-term growth? A perspective analysis. Inclusive Society and Sustainability Studies, 1(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.31098/issues.v1i1.637.

Acharya, D., Devkota, B., Gautam, K. & Bhattarai, R. (2020). Association of information, education, and communication with enrolment in health insurance: A case of Nepal. Archives of Public Health, 78, 135. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-020-00518-8.

Akasse, C. S., Akbar, M., & Arianto, A. (2021). Analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of using social media in public relations practices to convey COVID-19 information in Gorontalo Province. International Journal of Entrepreneurship, Business and Creative Economy, 1(2), 21–29. https://doi.org/10.31098/ijebce.v1i2.590.

Arisanty, M., Wiradharma, G., & Fiani, I. (2020). Optimizing social media platforms as information dissemination media. Jurnal Aspikom, 5(2), 266-279. https://doi. 10.24329/aspikom.v5i2.700.

Baja, E. S., Castillo-Carandang, N. T., Viray, B. A. G., & Tagle, P. A. (2014). Interim Assessment of the PhilHealth CARES Project (No. 2014-41). PIDS Discussion Paper Series. https://bitly.ws/Xt2e.

Bredenkamp, C., Capuno, J., Kraft, A., Poco, L., Quimbo, S., & Tan, Jr. C. (2017). Awareness of health insurance benefits in the Philippines: What do people know and how? Discussion Paper, Worldbank, 4. https://bitly.ws/XsZe.

Briones, J. P., Verano, J. P. E., Uy, R. G., Atanacio, E. B., Refozar, R. F. G., & Maglangit Jr, Z. D. (2023). Entrepreneurship practices of higher education institutions in Region IV-A, Philippines. International Journal of Entrepreneurship, Business and Creative Economy, 3(2), 15–31. https://doi.org/10.31098/ijebce.v3i2.1446.

Capuno, J. J., Kraft, A. D., & O’Donnell, O. (2021). Filling potholes on the road to universal health coverage in the Philippines. Health Systems & Reform, 7(2), e1911473. https://doi.org/10.1080/23288604.2021.1911473.

Dartanto, T., Halimatussadiah, A., Rezki, J., Nurhasana, R., Siregar, H. C., Bintara, H., Usman, Pramono, W., Sholihah, N. K., Yuan, E. Z. W., & Soeharno, R. (2019). Why do informal sector workers not pay the premium regularly? Evidence from the national health insurance system in Indonesia. Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40258-019-00518-y.

De Leon, A. P., & Garcia, E. D. (2021). Assessing the readiness level of Don Honorio Ventura State University - College of Computing Studies towards the implementation of blended learning. Inclusive Society and Sustainability Studies, 1(1), 27–30. https://doi.org/10.31098/issues.v1i1.611.

Ecer, F. & Pamucar, D. (2021). Marcos technique under intuitionistic fuzzy environment for determining the COVID-19 pandemic performance of insurance companies in terms of healthcare services. Applied Soft Computing Journal, 104, 1-19. https://doi: 10.1016/j.asoc.2021.107199.

Geta, E. T., Bidika, A. W., & Etana, B. (2022). Does community-based health insurance reduce disparities in modern health service utilization among households in Ethiopia? A community-based comparative cross-sectional study. Frontier in Public Health, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1021660.

Fenny, A. P., Yate, R. & Thompson, R. (2021). Strategies for financing social health insurance schemes for providing universal health care: A comparative analysis of five countries. Global Health Action, 14(1), 1868054. https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2020.1868054.

Heide, M., Von Platen, S., Simonsson, C., & Falkheimer, J. (2018). Expanding the scope of strategic communication: Towards a holistic understanding of organizational complexity. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 12(4), 452–468. https://doi.org/10.1080/1553118X.2018.1456434.

Helm, S. (2011). Employee’s awareness of their impact on corporate reputation. Journal of Business Research, 64(7), 657-663. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2010.09.001.

Jaurigue, R. B., Laspinas, N. G., Inojales, H. S., & Hermano, R. B. (2023). Rank-and-file employees' work attitude, motivation, and performance in an academe. Pakistan Journal of Life and Social Sciences, 21(1): 236-254. https://doi.org/10.57239/PJLSS-2023-21.1.0019.

Jian, G., & Dalisay, F. (2015). Talk matters at work: The effects of leader-member conversational quality and communication frequency on work role stressors. International Journal of Business Communication, 55(4), 483–500. https://doi.org/10.1177/2329488415594157

Keisler-Stankey, K., & Bunch, L. N. (2021). Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2020. United States Census Bureau, Current Population Report. P60-274.

Lee, H. M. & Ko, H. (2022). The impact of benefits coverage expansion of social health insurance: Evidence from Korea. Health Policy, 126 (9), 925-932. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2022.06.009.

Loss, J., & von Uslar, C. (2021). How German health insurance providers use social online networks to promote healthy lifestyles: A content analysis of Facebook® accounts. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, 21, 64. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12911-021-01433-w.

McCombes, S. (2023). Descriptive research: Definition, types, methods, examples. Scribbr. https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/descriptive-research/.

Merriam-Webster (n.d.). Awareness. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/awareness.

Muhamedi, M., & Ariffin, M.H.M. (2017). Importance of communication channels between managers and employees in management communication. The Social Sciences, 12(9), 1541-1552. https://bitly.ws/VJtQ.

Mustapha, I. K., Sakariyau, O. B., Adeyeye, M. M., & Ajoje, A. F. (2023). Influence of knowledge sharing, innovation capacity, firm performance in Nigerian Agro-clusters. Inclusive Society and Sustainability Studies, 3(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.31098/issues.v3i1.1305.

Obi, I. V., Okoronkwo, I. L., & Adi, J. A. (2019). Critical determinants of supply of services in the Nigeria Formal Sector Social Health Insurance Programme. European Journal of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, 5 (6), 79-84. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ejcbs.20190506.12.

Nga, N. T. T., Xiem, C. H., & Anh, B. T. M. (2021). Universal coverage challenges: Determinants of enrolment in family-based social health insurance. International Journal of Healthcare Management, 14 (4), 1120-1126. https://doi.org/10.1080/20479700.2020.1752986.

Nouri, B. A., Oleykie, F. & Soltani, M. (2019). The role of customer commercial knowledge management in improving the performance of employees of insurance firms in Iran. International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management (IJCRMM), 10(1), 17-33. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJCRMM.2019010102.

Pabilando, R., & Du, E. M. (2022). Implementation of information and communications technology at Naval State University. Inclusive Society and Sustainability Studies, 2(1), 27–45. https://doi.org/10.31098/issues.v2i1.793.

Paneru, D. P., Adhikari, C., Poudel, S., Adhikari, L.M. Neupane, D., Bajracharya, J., Jnawali, K., Chapain, K. P., Paudel, N., Baidhya, N., & Rawal, A. (2022). Adopting social health insurance in Nepal: A mixed study. Frontiers in Public Health, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.978732.

Pasovska, S. & Miceski, T. (2018). Practicing proper business communication to achieve higher company performance. Second International Scientific Conference on Business and Economics Conference Proceedings. 429-427. https://bitly.ws/Zuhw.

Pembi, S., Babbuli, I. M., Andow, H. A., & Jibril, A. (2023). Entrepreneurial human capital and persistence in underperforming firms. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Studies, 3(1), 79–88. https://doi.org/10.31098/ijeass.v3i1.1518.

Philippine Health Insurance Corporation. (2022). PhilHealth Circular No. 2022 – 0013. Granting of immediate eligibility to Filipino citizens. Philhealth.gov, 1-4. https://bitly.ws/XsUH.

Prabowo, K. A. (2021). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) during Covid-19 pandemic: The implementation from Unicorn companies. Inclusive Society and Sustainability Studies, 1(2), 33–44. https://doi.org/10.31098/issues.v1i2.751.

Raja, S. (2017). A study on employee awareness about the company's vision and values. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Modern Education, 3(1), 163-170. https://rb.gy/v7lfc.

Sanina, A., Balashov, A., Rubtcova, M. & Satinsky, D. (2017). The effectiveness of communication channels in government and business communication. Information Polity, 22(4),251-266. https://doi.org/10.3233/IP-170415.

Saputro, A. H. D., & Bangun, M. Y. R. (2022). Evaluating the implementation of standard operating procedure (SOP) according to knowledge management (Case study of Bank Keluarga’s frontline). International Journal of Management, Entrepreneurship, Social Science and Humanities, 5(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.31098/ijmesh.v5i1.776.

Thakur, R., Shannawaz, M. & Saeed, S. (2023). An analysis of knowledge, attitude, and utilization of health insurance in India: A systematic review. International Journal of Healthcare Management, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/20479700.2023.2277979.

Troise, C., & Camilleri, M. A. (2021). The use of digital media for marketing, CSR communication, and stakeholder engagement. In M. A. Camilleri (Ed.). Strategic Corporate Communication in the Digital Age. Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, 161-174. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80071-264-520211010.

Uma Phalswal, Neeraja VK, Dixit, P. & Ashok Kumar Bishnoi. (2023). Government health insurance schemes and their benefits to the Indian population: An overview. National Journal of Community Medicine, 14 (5), 340-345. https://doi.org/10.55489/njcm.140520232743.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (n.d.). Top 10 FAQs. https://bitly.ws/Xt84

Verhoeven, J. W. M. & Madsen, V. T. (2022). Active employee communication roles in organizations: A framework for understanding and discussing communication role expectations. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 16(1), 91-110. https://doi.org/10.1080/1553118X.2021.2014503.

Wilkins, E. J., Miller, H. M., Tilak, E., & Schuster, R. M. (2018). Communicating information on nature-related topics: Preferred information channels and trust in sources. PLOS ONE 13(12), e0209013. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0209013.

Wu, R., Li, N., & Ercia, A. (2020). The effects of private health insurance on universal health coverage objectives in China: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(6), 2049. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17062049.

Yusof, A. & Rahmat, N. (2020). Communication barriers at the workplace: A case study. European Journal of Education Studies, 7(10), 228-240. https://bitly.ws/Zugf.

Downloads

Article Metrics

Published

December 30, 2023

Citation Check

How to Cite

Roldan, M. R. ., Cruz, M. L. C. D. ., Oreta, E. M. ., Guino, I. C. G. ., Briones, J., & Soren, J. (2023). Rank-and-File Employees’ Awareness on the Programs and Services of a Social Health Insurance Corporation in the Philippines . Inclusive Society and Sustainability Studies, 3(2), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.31098/issues.v3i2.1986

Issue

Section

Research Paper

Article Index