MindanaoToday.com | PhilHealth-10 warns public on ‘fake news’
By: Uriel Quilinguing
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation in Northern Mindanao (PhilHealth 10) on Tuesday, September 10, advised its over four million members “to be mindful and remain vigilant against disinformation that aims to misrepresent, confuse and sow discord.”
PhilHealth-10 debunked the accusations made by a certain Medical Action Group (MAG) that 30 million indirect contributors nationwide, composed of senior citizens, persons with disabilities, Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) members, and their dependents have been removed from PhilHealth coverage this year, 2024.
In fact, PhilHealth-10 has already paid over P3.291-billion claims of health care providers in the past six months for the health benefit packages that were availed of by thousands of its 4,108,216 members, including 1,382,802 indirect contributors.
PhilHealth-10 Regional Vice President Delio Aseson II disclosed this payment of claims in a “Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas” forum and reiterated that under the Universal Health Care Act of 2019 (Republic Act No. 11223), all Filipinos are automatic members of the National Health Insurance Program (NHIP).
As NHIP members, they are assured of immediate eligibility to their health insurance benefits anytime they are in need of medical treatment at any accredited facility in the country, Aseron said, regardless of the level of allocation that the Congress provides to the program every year.
In a statement released on Friday, September 6, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said that under the 2024 National Expenditure Program which it submitted to Congress, PhilHealth (or PHIC) has an allocation of P101.5 billion of which P80.283 billion is for the NHIP, covering the annual premiums of 21,161,308 indirect contributors.
But Congress, in the exercise of its power of the purse, reduced the DBM recommended budget of PHIC in the 2024 General Appropriations Act to P61.6 billion, of which P40.283 billion is for the NHIP, a portion of the DBM statement reads.
Aseron said that their payments in the last years were just over P4 billion, yet they have already exceeded the P3-billion mark in the first half this year—paying claims of over P500 million every month—mainly due to the implementation of increases in health benefit packages.
For instance, PhilHealth-10 has begun rolling out 156 hemodialysis sessions from what used to be 90 sessions, with each session costing about P4,000.
For Shirley Manlangit, a 35-year-old chronic kidney disease patient, the increase in dialysis sessions has been a financial relief because the old package may only last for six months. Now, she—and all others of similar health condition–is assured for a year-long hemodialysis session.
Maglangit said that in reality there are still cashouts even with this increase in the number of hemodialysis session, yet the responsive PhilHealth package of benefit is enough reason for her to live.
Benefit packages for high-risk pneumonia has also gone up to P90,100 from P32,000; acute ischemic stroke to P76,000 from P28,000; acute hemorrhagic stroke to P80,000 from P38,000; and patient benefit under the PhilHealth Konsultasyong Sulit at Tama (Konsulta) to P1,700 from P500.
Aseron said are also looking at the possibility of expanding the PhilHealth Konsulta which, at present covers 15 laboratory tests and 21 drugs and medicines. Northern Mindanao has 136 PhilHealth Konsulta registered facilities and have 2,176,167 registered members, as of September 10, 2024.
These, he said, are just among other health packages that PhilHealth has expanded based on feedbacks from members and stakeholders in the primary health care system, as well as in enhancing their services though direct and online contacts and adoption of the latest technologies. (MT)
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