Despite the suspension of the hike in premiums of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), the state insurer assured the public that new benefits scheduled for rollout this year would still be deployed.
PhilHealth acting president and chief executive officer Emmanuel R. Ledesma, Jr. issued the statement as part of the agency’s celebration of National Health Insurance Month.
The PhilHealth chief had previously reiterated the agency’s commitment to provide financial relief to Filipinos as he said they would comply with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s decision to suspend the hike in premium rates and the income ceiling.
“The implementation of the new benefits for PhilHealth members is still on track, albeit with a few adjustments. Kasama po sa mga bagong benepisyong ito ang outpatient mental health package at severe acute malnutrition package at outpatient therapeutic care para sa severe-acute malnutrition,” Ledesma said.
“This is part of PhilHealth’s commitment to continuously expand the benefits we offer and make them more responsive to the changing medical care needs of the Filipino people,” he added, as he noted that this year’s National Health Insurance Month is “Pinalawak at mga Bagong Benepisyo para sa Mamamayang Filipino.”
The National Health Insurance Month is observed every February in the Philippines by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 1400 s. 2007, which underlines the important role of social health insurance in every Filipino’s life.
Meanwhile, aside from mental health and malnutrition packages, Ledesma added that the PhilHealth Konsulta Package – a program where members are assigned to an accredited medical provider that will check and take care of their health needs through consultations – would also push through for implementation.
“Ang PhilHealth Konsulta Package ay isang primary care benefit na maaaring magamit para sa basic services kagaya ng check-up, health screening and assessment, laboratory, x-ray, at gamot ayon sa health risks, edad at pangangailangan ng pasyente,” he explained.
“Para magamit ito, kailangan lamang magparehistro ang PhilHealth member sa isang accredited Konsulta Provider. Ang pagrehistro ay maaaring gawin online gamit ang PhilHealth Member Portal o magpa-assist sa employer kung kayo ay may trabaho,” he added.
The PhilHealth chief had previously reiterated the agency’s commitment to provide financial relief to Filipinos as he said they would comply with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s decision to suspend the hike in premium rates and the income ceiling.
