Senator Christopher “Bong” Go on Tuesday, April 6, appealed to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to scale up its COVID-19 response by providing expanded protection against medical costs, particularly for families suffering financial strains due to the pandemic.
“As the primary health insurance provider of millions of Filipinos, it is important that PhilHealth adapts to the current challenges the country is facing today,” Go said in a statement.
“For faster recovery, PhilHealth should be more proactive by anticipating the needs of Filipinos even before they avail treatment and expand the coverage of its health insurance schemes accordingly,” he added.
The chairman of the Senate health committee said he is concerned that poor and vulnerable Filipinos are struggling to gain access to quality healthcare.
He said the government "must do its best to unburden Filipinos by providing necessary, reliable, and efficient health services in line with the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act especially amid the ongoing pandemic."
The senator also urged the PhilHealth to extend its coverage to patients
“Sa PhilHealth, huwag po natin pabayaan ‘yung mga may sakit na hindi na nga ma-admit sa ospital dahil punuan, may dagdag na gastos pa habang admitted sa tents. Kaya parte ‘yan dapat ng coverage (To PhilHealth, let us not forsake the sick who cannot be admitted to hospitals because they are already full, instead they are admitted to tents which cost them additional expenses. This is why such additional expenses also has to be covered by PhilHealth),” Go said following reports that the patients stay in temporary hospital tents were not covered by PhilHealth packages.
“I urge PhilHealth to review and enhance its existing policies. Karamihan naman po ng mga Pilipino may kontribusyon sa PhilHealth. Dapat nilang maramdaman ang serbisyo ng PhilHealth, lalo na sa panahong ito (Most Filipinos have contributions with PhilHealth. They should feel the service of PhilHealth, especially at this time),” he added.
He also asked PhilHealth to fulfill its financial obligations to hospitals and their patients to ensure that medical institutions are able to afford vital medical supplies and the salaries of their workers.
Failure to do so could hurt the stability of the healthcare system, he warned.
Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea already reminded PhilHealth president Dante Gierran on Monday, April 5, to hasten the payment of delayed reimbursements to hospitals.
Gierran reportedly told Palace officials in a meeting that the state insurer had settled about P91.4 billion of hospital claims for 2020. An estimated P3.7 billion worth of claims is currently being processed while another P5.2 billion is for further validation, Go said.
“Dapat ma-settle on time ang mga financial obligations in accordance with our regulations. Huwag natin hayaan na maapektuhan ang operasyon ng mga ospital dahil sa kakulangan ng pondo (The financial obligations should be settled on time in accordance with our regulations. Let us not allow the operation of the hospitals to be affected by the lack of funds),” Go said.