Department of Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said the government is committed to universal healthcare, citing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Zero Balance Billing policy for Department of Health (DOH) hospitals and the aggressive expansion of benefit packages by the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).
“The government is committed to maximizing its resources to ensure that no Filipino is denied healthcare because of the rising costs of medical treatment,” Recto said.
He said this commitment was the “overarching message” of President Marcos and a central theme of his most recent State of the Nation Address (SONA).
“The marching orders of the President have always been clear. ‘Wala dapat natutulog na pondo habang may mga Pilipinong may sakit.’ We hope PhilHealth continues to expand its benefit packages, especially now that it has more than enough in its war chest to make a real difference,” Recto said.
Recto said PhilHealth is implementing the most significant expansion of benefit packages in the history of the Universal Health Care program.
“Our goal has always been to make every hard-earned peso of the Filipino taxpayer count—for the people, for their families, and for their health,” he said.
Among PhilHealth’s latest expanded benefits for Filipinos are the increased package rate for breast cancer patients, which rose from P100,000 to P1.4 million or a 1,300-percent jump to cover all stages of the illness.
For dialysis patients, the President revealed in his SONA that sessions and medications are now free for an entire year. Before, benefits for Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) were only P270,000, but the government has extended this by 370 percent, covering from P25,000 up to P1,269,000.
PhilHealth also institutionalized 156 hemodialysis sessions a year at P6,350 per session from P4,000 per session (58.75 percent increase), translating to almost P1 million worth of support per patient per year.
Benefits for Filipinos in need of kidney transplants have been increased by 250 percent to P2,100,000 from just P600,000. On top of this, PhilHealth now covers the services and medicines needed post-operation.
Post-kidney transplant services for pediatrics have increased to P1,765,130 for the first year and up to P810,732 for the succeeding year. For adults, coverage increased up to P671,800 for the first year, and P621,800 for the next year.
PhilHealth also expanded the benefits for patients who have contracted severe dengue by 193.75 percent to P47,000 from P16,000.
The President said benefits for cataract patients have also dramatically increased—by up to 826.238 percent —with coverage rising from P20,200 to P187,100.
The President also announced that outpatient and emergency care services are now covered by PhilHealth. For its outpatient benefits, PhilHealth has increased the capitation rate for its Konsulta program to P1,700 for both government (from P500) and private package (from P750) providers.
To address poor eyesight and malnutrition, the president announced that optometric services for children up to 15 years old (P,500), as well as therapeutic care for severe acute malnutrition for children 60 months old and below (P7,500 to P17,000), are now covered by PhilHealth.
For persons with disability (PWD), PhilHealth now covers their therapy and rehabilitation needs.
PhilHealth also covers physical medicine, rehabilitation services, and assistive mobility devices for up to P40,000.
Other benefits expanded under PhilHealth include open heart surgeries. The benefits for ventricular septal defect went up to P614,000 (from PHP 250,000) as well as total correction of tetralogy of fallot (P614,000 from P320,000) and coronary artery bypass graft surgery (up to P960,000 from P550,000).
Heart Valve Repair and/or Replacement for Valvular Heart Diseases for pedia and adults have also increased up to P816,500 and P825,000.
Inpatient benefits were also increased for neonatal sepsis (P25,793 from PH1,700), bronchial asthma (P22,488 from P9,000), ischemic heart disease (P523,853 from P21,900), and COVID-19 (PHP 55,000 from P43,997).
Preventive oral care health services in primary care are now covered by PhilHealth with benefits ranging from P200 to P1,500 on a per tooth or visit basis.
