After a unanimous vote, the Senate approved the much awaited 120-day maternity leave bill on its third and final reading.
The Senate Bill 1305, or the Expanded Maternity Leave Law of 2017, once passed into law it will allow female workers, regardless of civil status or her child’s legitimacy, 120 days of maternity leave with pay.
PhilHealth Maternity Benefit checklist
The Philhealth Maternity benefits’ goal is to “ensure a healthy pregnancy, safety of the delivery and good health of the baby,” covering the prenatal, delivery, and post-natal care period.
- If you’re planning to apply for Philhealth maternity benefits, you should make sure that your PhilHealth Member Data Record is updated and your Claim form is filled out.
- Additional documents that may be needed, such as marriage certificates, official receipts, and proofs of identification.
- It’s also important to remember to have this done within 60 days after your hospital discharge date.
- For employed members, the requirement is to have made at least three (3) months of contributions within the 6 months prior to availment.
- As for individually paying members, nine (9) months of contributions should have been made within the year preceding availment.
- OFW or sponsored members can avail of this benefit so long as the availment date still falls within the period of their membership’s validity.
- The Maternity Care Package (MCP) includes health services during throughout pregnancy and delivery, as well as follow-up visits within 3 days to 1 week after delivery.
- According to the PhilHealth website, the MCP, when availed of in one of their accredited hospitals, amounts to P6,500.
- For accredited birthing homes, maternity clinics, infirmaries, or dispensaries, the coverage will be up to P8,000.
- It’s important, PhilHealth emphasizes, to have pre-natal check-ups as early as possible, making sure you have had at least four (4) pre-natal consultations throughout one’s pregnancy to ensure a safe delivery.
- The in-hospital availment of the Normal Spontaneous Delivery Package (NSD) is worth P5,000.
- If availed in accredited birthing homes, maternity clinics, infirmaries or dispensaries, the NSD package is worth P6,500.
- Cesarean sections and breech delivery in accredited hospitals will also be covered.
- The Newborn Care Package (NCP) is worth P1,750 in total. This includes Newborn Screening Test, Hearing Test, and other necessary newborn care measures.
- However, PhilHealth stressed that these benefits can only be availed of once without penalties.
SSS Maternity Benefit checklist
The SSS maternity benefit was created in order to help pregnant women, who are active members of the SSS, through “a daily cash allowance granted to a female member who is unable to work, due to childbirth or miscarriage.”
- To qualify for the SSS Maternity benefit, you must have paid at least three (3) monthly contributions within the 12-month period immediately preceding the semester of her childbirth or miscarriage.
- You must also have “given the required notification of her pregnancy through her ER if employed, or directly to the SSS, if a SE or VM or Member Separated from Employment.”
- SSS considers six months a semester (January to June and July to December).
- A quarter is three (3) consecutive months in a year.
- Before availment, you need to submit an accomplished Maternity Notification Form or the SSS FORM MAT-1 enclosed with proof of pregnancy (for instance, an ultrasound report)
- The SSS Form MAT-2 for maternity reimbursement is what you need to fill out if you’re an employed member. This form must be submitted to your HR representative, who will give notice to the SSS.
- If you’re a voluntary/work-at-home/separated member, you only need to fill out the SSS FORM MAT-1 and the cash allowance will be given to you directly.
For more information and to view the full computation table, you can download and print this form for your reference.
READ: Senate approves bill allowing 120-day maternity leave
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