CLARK FREEPORT – The board of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHeatlh) is slated to approve today wider health insurance benefits for its millions of members nationwide, a move that could provide hospitalization privileges worth P9 billion more annually.
“The expanded benefits will upgrade the maximum limit of insurance for 21 illnesses, including masectomy, PhilHealth senior vice president for operations Tito Mendiola told Punto in a telephone interview.
Mendiola said members of the PhilHealth board will meet today to approve this proposal espoused by Pres. Aquino for implementation next year.
It is expected that the upgrading of insurance benefits would cost P9 billion more annually, on top of the billions worth of insurance PhilHealth already extends to its members.
He noted that this year alone, the insurance benefits released to members could cost about P32 billion.
During his first official visit here, the President also announced that PhilHealth insurance benefits for millions of PhilHealth members would soon be upgraded.
In his speech during the groundbreaking rites for the proposed P200-million Medical City here, he vowed to extend the government insurance to some 4.6 million “poorest of the poor” Filipino families in the next two or three years.
The President said, “my administration has begun a program to extend PhilHealth to these (poorest) families in the next two to three years.”
“We are in the process of reforming the system to increase the percentage of medical fees that will be shouldered by PhilHealth in a way that will not compromise financial viability,” he said.
Citing government statistics indicating 4.6 million Filipino families are in the category of “poorest of the poor”, the President reiterated that “access to adequate health care is one of the key elements in reducing poverty.”
“Reducing poverty under my term as president is my promise to the Filipino people. In the area of health care alone, the challenges are great. About 162 out of every 100,000 mothers die from complications during childbirth every year…because they could not afford pre-natal and post-natal care service,” he said.
But Mendiola cited the need to regulate the fees being charged by doctors and by hospitals from PhilHealth members.
“The problem is that when PhilHealth insurance upgrades its coverage, hospitals and doctors also increase their fees. While we have to be financially viable as an insurance agency, we must not forget that we are dealing with social insurance,” he said.
Mendiola said that there is no regulating body that systematizes the “professional fees” of doctors. “Only competition seems to temper their fees, but even in this area, there seems to be some kind of cartel,” he added.
“Not even the Department of Health could exert its influence on matters concerning provincial and district hospitals because these are under the local governments, so that if the local leader do not regard health concerns as priorities, health services to the public also suffers,” Mendiola lamented.
He said that only last April, the Arroyo administration expanded PhilHealth insurance benefits by 35 percent.
At the same time, the President also said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is still identifying the 4.6 million poorest families for its conditional cash transfer program (CCTP) that would entitle them to P1,400 monthly.
“The cash will be given on the condition that they keep their children in school and submit them for health monitoring.”
“The expanded benefits will upgrade the maximum limit of insurance for 21 illnesses, including masectomy, PhilHealth senior vice president for operations Tito Mendiola told Punto in a telephone interview.
Mendiola said members of the PhilHealth board will meet today to approve this proposal espoused by Pres. Aquino for implementation next year.
It is expected that the upgrading of insurance benefits would cost P9 billion more annually, on top of the billions worth of insurance PhilHealth already extends to its members.
He noted that this year alone, the insurance benefits released to members could cost about P32 billion.
During his first official visit here, the President also announced that PhilHealth insurance benefits for millions of PhilHealth members would soon be upgraded.
In his speech during the groundbreaking rites for the proposed P200-million Medical City here, he vowed to extend the government insurance to some 4.6 million “poorest of the poor” Filipino families in the next two or three years.
The President said, “my administration has begun a program to extend PhilHealth to these (poorest) families in the next two to three years.”
“We are in the process of reforming the system to increase the percentage of medical fees that will be shouldered by PhilHealth in a way that will not compromise financial viability,” he said.
Citing government statistics indicating 4.6 million Filipino families are in the category of “poorest of the poor”, the President reiterated that “access to adequate health care is one of the key elements in reducing poverty.”
“Reducing poverty under my term as president is my promise to the Filipino people. In the area of health care alone, the challenges are great. About 162 out of every 100,000 mothers die from complications during childbirth every year…because they could not afford pre-natal and post-natal care service,” he said.
But Mendiola cited the need to regulate the fees being charged by doctors and by hospitals from PhilHealth members.
“The problem is that when PhilHealth insurance upgrades its coverage, hospitals and doctors also increase their fees. While we have to be financially viable as an insurance agency, we must not forget that we are dealing with social insurance,” he said.
Mendiola said that there is no regulating body that systematizes the “professional fees” of doctors. “Only competition seems to temper their fees, but even in this area, there seems to be some kind of cartel,” he added.
“Not even the Department of Health could exert its influence on matters concerning provincial and district hospitals because these are under the local governments, so that if the local leader do not regard health concerns as priorities, health services to the public also suffers,” Mendiola lamented.
He said that only last April, the Arroyo administration expanded PhilHealth insurance benefits by 35 percent.
At the same time, the President also said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is still identifying the 4.6 million poorest families for its conditional cash transfer program (CCTP) that would entitle them to P1,400 monthly.
“The cash will be given on the condition that they keep their children in school and submit them for health monitoring.”
