DAVAO CITY (PIA) — The Philippine Health Insurance Cor (PhilHealth) has committed to enhancing the coverage of some of its benefit packages by implementing coverage rate increases following the initial 30 percent increase earlier this year.
“Philhealth is doing its effort, especially this year na i-taas po ating mga benepisyo. The PhilHlealth coverage had been raised by 30% across the board at the start of the year, and we are expecting another raise at the end of the year,” said Dr. Marie Allexis Campaner, chief of PhilHealth-XI Health Care Delivery Management Division, during the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas on September 10.
PhilHealth-XI regional vice president Atty. Harvey Carcedo explained that the implemented benefit package enhancements and the planned raise mainly cover certain conditions that require highly specialized treatments, which are economically burdensome to the patients and their families.
From the benefit package enhancements implemented this year, Campaner said that much of the enhancement done was with the Z benefit package for breast cancer, whose coverage rate was raised from P100,000 to P1.4 million.
“So ngayon ang coverage ng breast cancer is up to 1.4 million and this is covering from the early stages of breast cancer up to the terminal stages,” she explained.
She added, “Napakaganda po nito dahil ang atin pong mga kababayan ay maco-cover na po kahit doon sa pinaka-early na stage ng disease which is sa detection phase. This would provide more support to all our members.”
Moreover, the hemodialysis benefit package has also increased by 54 percent. Carcedo reported that from P2,600 it raised to P4,000, covering the three per week hemodialysis sessions among patients with chronic kidney disease stage 5.
Meanwhile, the benefit packages for neonatal sepsis and bronchial asthma were also increased by 120 percent and 150 percent respectively.
Carcedo said that from P11,700, the neonatal sepsis benefit package was raised to P25,793. While P22,488 is the new rate for the bronchial asthma benefit package from only P9,000.
Also, Carcedo reported that they have doubled the coverage for hemorrhagic stroke, ischemic stroke, and high-risk pneumonia.
Coverage for hemorrhagic stroke was raised to P80,000 from P38,000. Ischemic stroke coverage is now at P76,000 from P28,000.
While coverage for high-risk pneumonia was raised to P90,100 from P32,000.
The Konsulta package was also expanded, Carcedo revealed that the budget per patient has increased from P500 to P1,700, which now includes early breast cancer detection screenings such as mammograms and ultrasounds.
With the free primary care checkups and maintenance medications for some conditions, Carcedo called on the public to register with their nearest Konsulta provider to avail of this service.
These expansions of benefit coverage are part of the benefit enhancement program of the agency that aims to improve its most critical benefit packages to ease the financial burden of every patient with their treatment and hospitalization. (clc/ASO/PIA XI)
