4 Agencies you should Visit after Giving Birth

Paperwork can be a headache, even more so if you’ve been in labor for 33 hours and are lying in recovery, head full of floating elephants after being pumped up with enough Demerol to make Lindsay Lohan happy. Here’s a handy guide for the documents you should prepare so all will be well for you and your little bundle of joy, legally, medically and financially.

# 1: Philhealth
Before you decide on a hospital where you will give birth, make sure that they are connected with Philhealth, if you are a member. You can find this out from the hospital’s billing department (you must also confirm the same if you’re getting coverage from another health care provider, but more on that later). Although a normal birth can cost between P12,000 to 15,000, some hospitals could end up charging as much as P80,000 or more if the delivery is through a caesarean section, or if there are complications. You can opt to forgo the hospital and deliver in your own home, but Philhealth won’t cover that.

For employed mothers, ideally, the mother must secure and fill out a Philhealth form from her employer before confinement (or during confinement if it can’t be helped), which will be signed by both her employer and her attending physician . The form is then submitted to the Philhealth department of the hospital (for Philhealth-accredited hospitals). The hospital will then send Philhealth the bill to determine the amount to be shouldered by the agency based on your level of coverage. The members pay for any amount in excess of the Philhealth coverage.

If the birth is sudden and the parents are unable to submit the form sooner, parents must file the claim from the Philhealth office as a refund after the birth. This can be submitted to the Philhealth office nearest the mother’s employer’s address.

If you have another private health card, you can choose to use Philhealth or your alternative health card, or both, if, for any reason, hospital expenses exceed the coverage of either providers.

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# 2: Your Health Care Provider
If you have an existing external private health care plan (which in this day and age is a MUST for everyone), make sure to consult your hospital’s billing department to confirm that your provider is accredited with them. You need to be in touch with your agent to make sure you’re covered as far as your plan can take you. Be sure your agent is on hand to assist you with the documents that need to be filed to make a claim on your plan so you will be able to enjoy the benefits that you or your company have paid for. If possible, you should arrange your things at least two weeks before your due date, so as to be prepared when the actual birth occurs.

# 3: The Civil Registrar
Normally, the hospital would provide the birth certificate form for the parents to fill up and sign, after which they just need to submit it back to the hospital, who is responsible for filing the birth certificate with the local civil registrar.  

If the parents are unable to register the birth certificate at the hospital, they can file with the local civil registrar of the city where the hospital is located. The civil registrar may require that they get the signature of the attending physician. If the child isn’t born in a hospital but with the healp of a midwife, as in provincial births, the parents must still secure a form from the local civil registrar where their child is born. The midwife must sign the birth certificate to prove she assisted in the birth.

There are legal implications if the parents are not married. First, the father may need to signify consent for the child to use his/her father’s family name by affixing his signature on the form. In the case of an unwed, single mother, the child automatically gets the mother’s surname.

One to two weeks after the filing of the birth certificate, you may secure a copy from the municipality office or local civil registrar of the hospital where the baby was born. The local civil registrar will also transmit a copy to the NSO. It’s also possible to order a birth certificate from them eventually, but it will take time – about a month to three or so after it is filed. This is especially important if you need to leave the country with your baby, as most countries require an NSO copy of the birth certificate as a requirement to obtain a visa.

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# 4: The SSS
As soon as you know you’re pregnant, you may already report it to the SSS. Fill up a maternity leave form and have your attending physician sign it, then file this with your company who, in turn, will file it with the SSS. The company will then advance the necessary amount for the mother’s maternity leave, which is then reimbursed by the SSS. Be warned, though, that some companies do not advance the amount, in which case the mother must wait until the company gets the reimbursement before she could get her money.

For self-employed and freelance moms, they should file directly with the SSS. The SSS will give them the maternity advance directly, depending on the amount of contributions they have paid over the years.

SSS grants a maternity leave of 60 days, depending on the health of the mother.

Indeed, there are plenty of paperworks that need to be accomplished after a baby is born. To make it easier on you, the mother, it’s best to prepare all the documents needed weeks ahead of your expected delivery date and assign one person to oversee that these get filed properly, to ensure that you – and your new baby – get to enjoy all the benefits you are entitled to without any hassle.

 

Photo from flickr creative commons