The partnership between InLife Benefits and PhilHealth could help close a persistent gap in preventive healthcare by bringing the government’s YAKAP program closer to private-sector employees and making routine screening easier to access.
The two organizations recently signed a memorandum of understanding, marking PhilHealth’s first partnership with a private healthcare benefits provider to expand YAKAP through the corporate sector.
The agreement taps InLife Benefits’ network of corporate clients and digital infrastructure to connect employees with PhilHealth-accredited facilities, potentially encouraging earlier screening and helping prevent manageable conditions from developing into more serious and costly illnesses.
“There are a lot of diseases that could be prevented if only they were screened earlier. Now we see our national health insurance moving towards preventive health,” said Isabel Umali, MD, deputy medical director of InLife Benefits.
“That’s the gap that we want to close by giving people the chance to take charge of their health before catastrophic diseases happen,” she said.
PhilHealth NCR and Rizal Vice President Bernadette C. Lico, MD, said the partnership could help address limited awareness among members about YAKAP’s preventive services by using InLife Benefits’ corporate reach and information technology capabilities.
YAKAP is supported by more than 4,000 accredited clinics nationwide, including over 750 facilities in Metro Manila, giving beneficiaries a broad network for accessing preventive services.
The partnership comes as employers and healthcare providers increasingly recognize that early detection can be less costly than treating illnesses after they have progressed. For private-sector workers, however, awareness, convenience, and navigating available benefits can still stand between eligibility and actual use.
By integrating YAKAP into existing corporate healthcare channels, the partners hope to make preventive care more visible and accessible to employees who may otherwise overlook government health benefits.
The initiative could also demonstrate how public-private partnerships can improve the use of national health programs among formally employed Filipinos, particularly when private providers can help bridge gaps in communication and access.
The partners plan to eventually extend the initiative to employees’ dependents, potentially widening its reach to families.
If successful, the collaboration could shift workplace healthcare further toward prevention, helping employees detect health risks earlier while making better use of benefits already available to them.
