Senator Nancy Binay on Friday, January 14 called out the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) for misleading its members about the availability of its "home treatment" package for COVID-positive patients.
Binay said patients who do not want to stay in community isolation units (CIU) or health facilities and opted for home quarantine tried to avail of PhilHealth's Covid-19 Home Isolation Benefit Packages (CHIBP) only to find out that there are only six listed accredited providers in the country, none of which are in the National Capital Region (NCR).
"Parang paulit-ulit na lang itong lokohan (It seems this is a cyclic joke). Kawawa na naman ang mga kababayan nating umasa na may ganitong tulong, na hindi naman pala talaga nila mapapakinabangan (Pity our countrymen who hoped to get such help but these could not be depended upon) 'Wag na sanang paasahin ang mga tao sa wala (Don’t give people false hopes). May sakit na nga, pakiramdam mo pa eh parang na-scam (They are sick and they feel they have become scam victims). Halos one year na itong pino-promote, pero ampaw pala (This is a false promise given since last year),“ she pointed out.
PhilHealth has been promoting its CHIBP since August 2021 intended for members who were tested positive but choose to receive health support at home.
CHIBP is supposed to be available to patients who passed both clinical and social criteria in surge areas declared by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).
“Everything should have already been in place prior to its launching last year, otherwise, parang malaking PR stunt lang ang Home Isolation Benefit Package para lang masabing may programang ginagawa ang PhilHealth para sa members (just to say something has been done for PhilHealth members). Halos isang taon na pero walang nakakaalam kung ano ang proseso para ma-avail ang package (It is now more than a year and yet nobody knows the process to avail of this package),” Binay said.
The senator said she discovered the gaps in the CHIBP’s implementation this week upon exploring the PhilHealth’s website to find out how members could avail of the package.
“May mga kaibigan kami at kakilala na tinamaan ng Covid na nahihirapang lumabas para magpa-ospital, kaya gusto nilang mag-avail ng home treatment package (We have friends and acquaintances who had been hit by COVID who have difficulty leaving their homes to go to the hospital. That is why they want to avail of a home treatment package). Nakaka-dismaya dahil di naman pala ito available (It is depressing because it is not really available), "Ang tanong: Why advertise and promote something which is not available in the first place? It's grossly misleading, unreliable and openly irresponsible. It's an institutional fail," Binay said.
Services under the home isolation package include home consultations for a minimum of 10 days, 24/7 daily monitoring of patients through teleconsultation, and provision of a home isolation kit which contains: 1L 70 percent alcohol, five pieces face mask, 1 thermometer, 1 pulse oximeter, drugs and medicines (18 pieces Paracetamol, 12 pieces Lagundi tablets or equivalent, six sachets oral rehydration salts, 10 pieces Ascorbic Acid, 10 pieces Vitamin D and zinc), and a consent form. Malacañang likewise is pushing PhilHealth to expand CHIBP to include free RT-PCR testing.
"Ang daming proklamasyon, pero wala naman posibilidad na makinabang ang mga nangangailangan nito dahil wala ngang accredited provider na nasa high-risk area (There are many proclamations but there is actually no possibility of being availed of because there are no accredited providers at high-risk areas),” she added.