Overseas Filipino Workers  or OFWs are exposed to specific medical concerns by virtue of their situation and employment circumstances. Away from the loving arms of their respective families and the support of long-time friends and relatives, they find themselves confronting risk and danger whether by force or choice. Many return home to the country with a far heavier problem than what they had when they left.

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Medical Concerns of OFWs

Mental Disorder
Separation from family, undergoing physical and emotional abuse from employers, or being jailed for a crime that has not been committed all have the potential to break the camel’s back, so to speak. When dealt with alone and without any form of support in a foreign country, chances are, the concerned OFW will go the way of insanity. Even the trauma of being caught in the crossfire of war can leave psychological scars that may never heal.
Physical Injury
Whether in  defending one’s honor or trying to escape the cruelty of some foreign employers, many have gone home maimed or even dead. Some even have to suffer through the pain without the benefit of any medical attention since conditions like these that pertain to willful infliction of injury are usually hidden from public. Aside from the usual occupational risk faced by any working person in any company or home, OFWs who have the misfortune of having cruel employers are more at risk.
HIV/AIDS
The statistics of HIV and AIDS cases in the Philippines is getting to be alarming in the sense that a considerable percentage of these cases involve former OFWs . The social problems of infidelity and sexual promiscuity of OFWs while staying in a foreign land are real. Many lives and families have been destroyed in the name of loneliness especially with resulting pregnancies between non-spouses. According to DOH, the new cases of HIV among Filipinos including OFWs resulted from male-to-male sexual contact. Morality issues aside, this specific medical concern has to be addressed from the roots since sexual relations of this nature are often entered into with consent of the parties involved. Rape and other similar criminal cases are of course tackled differently.

Where Do OFWs Go for Medical Assistance?

OFWs must be members of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation or Philhealth. This membership will give them access to medical assistance when they get sick abroad. Expenses for hospital confinement for at least 24 hours are reimbursable subject to submission of requirements. Those who have been provided by health insurance by their employers abroad can still file for a separate reimbursement claim with Philhealth.

Benefit coverage for OFWs can be seen here.

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration or OWWA is the main agency tasked to assist OFWs in their need for medical and legal assistance when required.  It is the lead membership welfare institution that serves the interest and welfare of member OFWs. There are benefits to OWWA membership.

My Say

These medical concerns can affect Filipinos wherever they are, even here in our own land. However, the specific situation of OFWs have made them especially vulnerable to encountering these concerns while working in a foreign land. In the bid to improve their lives in the economic aspect, many Filipinos brave leaving the comforts of being with family and plunge head-on to the risks involved in being an OFW. There is a need for better systems that will enable better protection from risks. While some can be resolved by laws and having access to information, others will have to be resolved in a personal level.