Bautista-Imana, A. (2018). Extending social health insurance for entertainers of Angeles City: Nena (nights engagement of night angels) (Unpublished master's thesis). Public Management Development Program, Development Academy of the Philippines.

Public Management Development Program Middle Managers' Class Batch 15 - Enggranahe Thesis (MMC)--Development Academy of the Philippines.

Prostitution in the Philippines is illegal and a sensitive issue for the government and the men and women who are part of the institutions which thrive in it. Because of the nature of their work and the sensitivity of prostitution being illegal in the Philippines, membership into government institutions of individuals within this industry into PhilHealth has long been voluntary. Angeles City has one of the biggest in population when it comes to the number of sex workers. The group of practitioners within the NGO, League Angeles City Entertainers and Managers Inc. (LACEM) has very low coverage into PhilHealth. To reach the women who work as entertainers in Angeles City, the Re-entry Project tapped the existing mechanism between the local government of Angeles City and LACEM. The City's health mandate and the administrative coverage of LACEM among its members were the platforms for the ReP Extending Social Health Insurance for Entertainers of Angeles City - NENA: Night Engagement of Night Angeles. LACEM and PhilHealth signed a Memorandum of Agreement for the iGroup Program partnership. The scholar was able to conduct the following activities during the 3-months implementation phase of the ReP: 1. Signing a Memorandum of Agreement between PhilHealth and LACEM on iGroup Partnership. This gave impetus for membership coverage of entertainers in Balibago and Malabanias areas. 2. Conduct of IEC Seminars - NENA or Nightly Engagement of Night Angels seminars which gave relatable information to would be members. 3. Enrollment of a pilot group of 111 LACEM members into PhilHealth iGroup with an initial coverage of one year payable in quarterly mode. 4. Endorsement of LACEM iGroup members have to Angeles City Bale Angeleno RHU for provision of Primary Care Benefit in time to diminish their out of pocket expenses. To sustain the project and improve the number of members into the LACEM iGroup program and continue the positive involvement of partners-stakeholders and members, the following mechanisms will be done: 1) LACEM will set up a Policy Resolution for all members to follow - a collection scheme of P 2,400.00 per iGroup member will be mandated at the start of the year. 2) Bar managers and Bar-owners will be mandated to share in advance and provide half or partial payment of premium of entertainers - to retain membership compliance. 3) LACEM should maintain a separate accounting system for PhilHealth payments for iGroup member alone - to maintain integrity of the project funds. 4) Regular monitoring and evaluation of membership and collection to determine increase in numbers, premium payments, and PCB implementation to sustain growth. 5) PhilHealth LHIO Angeles City will maintain IEC sessions on different days to continue informing LACEM members of the program to ensure continued information dissemination of the. 6) Continuous engagement of a ReP Champion in the person of Ms. Maricel Morales - an active actress and women's advocate to have continued positive dissemination of information among members who see her as a leader, champion and a positive role model. The Re-entry Project NENA is an endeavor which spans many societal complication for a chosen marginalized group: entertainers and sex workers. The hope for the beneficiaries, partners and PhilHealth is that continued partnership will have a positive impact on their health insurance coverage for them and their families' general wellbeing. This is the hope of NENA.