It’s very expensive to get sick. On my last confinement due to an infection, we paid over P100,000 for a 7-days hospital stay. At that time, I only had a prepaid card that covers Emergency to Hospitalization. That was Maxicare EReady Advance Titanium which I bought for P3,983.15; it was less P50,000 on my hospital bill. Laking tulong.
It’s true, getting a full health and medical coverage is expensive. Previously, my husband and I had a Medicard Family Plan, we were paying P75,000+ annually for P250,000 coverage. We dropped this when we could no longer afford it.
Swerte ang mga may free hmo from their work places. But how about freelancers, small business owners, job orders employees, and similar? Is there a cheaper HMO that is available? It turns out, there is!
One can get a comprehensive HMO which covers lab tests, ER trips, hospitalization and dental coverage, in short, in-patient and out-patient plans, but more importantly, one that is also easier on the pocket. How? Find a cooperative with tie-ups to an HMO insurance provider or one which offers a coop health plan.
Yes, there are coop hmo or health plans as part of their members’ benefits. Search for cooperatives in your city or province, check what they offer health-wise, and see if it meets your needs. Some hmo plans via coop do have coverage even for pre-existing conditions.
Here in Cebu, I know of two, Cebu CFI Community Cooperative through their own Mutual Medical Assistance Fund and our family’s coop, TAYEMCO with tie-up to Life and Health HMP, Inc and 1CoopHealth. There could be more out there just waiting to be discovered by you.
Right now, via TAYEMCO, a Life and Health Regular Private with up to P80,000 maximum benefit limit (MBL), cost P12,343.56 (2025 rate). My husband and our daughter have this plan. Each of them pays P1,028.63 monthly.
My husband has already tried applying for a Letter of Authority (LOA) for laboratory tests for a pre-existing conditions. He sent an email to request LOA and within an hour, the Life and Health customer representative replied with his LOA for the tests he needed to take in Hi Precision. Fast and seamless experience, all done online! Thank you, Life and Health HMO!
My frustrations about the Life and Health HMO is that this 2025 they updated their terms, previous years you can use the MBL for laboratories and scans up to the limit. Now, they are only giving P7,000 inner limit for outpatient labs. And these labs must be clinic-based or diagnostic-center based, you can’t have outpatient labs in the hospitals, as cost is a lot higher in hospitals. Good thing we have a Hi Precision near us. *If you get hospitalized, you can still use your benefit up to the MBL.
Tayemco is also offering a 2nd HMO option to its members aside from Life and Health, and that is 1CoopHealth. This is what my mom got. Unfortunately, pre-existing conditions will only be covered after 1 year.
Be a Good Member of the Coop
Of course, if the HMO one has is via a coop, one should meet the minimum required monthly savings and capital contribution expected of the members.
My husband is the member of TAYEMCO and our daughter is his dependent. Monthly, he contributes P300, with breakdown as follows:
- Savings contribution: P100
- Capital contribution: P100
- Purple Heart contribution (special fund of the coop): P100
Total: P300
PLUS,
- HMO for my husband: P1,028.63
- HMO for our daughter: P1,028.63
Every month, our family hands in P2,357.26 to TAYEMCO and we are happy to do it. Aside from the full hmo with dental coverage, we get to have forced savings which can be withdrawn later, and the opportunity to borrow money at low interest rates should the need arise. Thank you, TAYEMCO!
So yes, don’t be dismayed. If you can’t afford the HMO offered by popular health companies directly as individual or family plan, look around there might be a cooperative with optional HMO and health plan coverage open to its members near you.
Pre-existing conditions are usually covered after 1 year. Dependents of coop members can be enrolled.
Finally, check with your local coop about their hmo, about pre-existing coverage if meron or wala, about benefit limit, know about the full terms and conditions before signing up.
Health is wealth, take care of it!
Cheers to Life!
~Cecille
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