Aquino’s move to double PhilHealth coverage welcomed

MANILA, Philippines – Former presidential economic adviser and now Albay Gov. Joey Salceda has welcomed President Aquino’s recent move to double Philippine Health Insurance Corp.’s coverage, saying this would significantly reduce the expenditures of households for hospitalization and outpatient medical maintenance.

Addressing recently the UP College of Medicine 102nd commencement exercises, the President told 263 new doctors that PhilHealth would now shoulder up to 70 percent of the hospital bills of its members — double or twice the previous 34 percent — and mentioned about the P3.5 billion allocation for PhilHealth premiums.

The Department of Budget and Management recently released P5 billion as partial payment for national governments’ share of unpaid indigents’ health insurance premiums, which totaled P6.5 billion.

“We are truly grateful for the President’s move, and since the ongoing policy in my province is already ‘no excess for indigents in government hospitals,’ this means more reimbursable expenses for hospitals retained by the Department of Health, rural health units, and the Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital,” Salceda said.

He said the President’s initiative represents “substantial relief that tips the scale in life-and-death situations – in favor of better wellbeing and survival.”

He added that he worked hard through his first term to provide PhilHealth members a “no excess” policy coverage for treatment in government hospitals.

By a policy already established last year by the Albay government, hospitals will no longer charge indigent patients excess expenses such as use of other facilities and maintenance care, he said.

PhilHealth has thus recently certified Albay as having a health insurance scheme that is “closest to universal coverage” in the country.

Salceda said Albay’s 172,000 families would benefit immensely from the program.

The no-excess policy of the provincial government was patterned after the 40-baht (P54) model in Thailand initiated by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, but does not cover patients in private hospitals, he said. –Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star)