By Ellson Quismorio Members of the House of Representatives have joined the chorus of officials asking state-owned Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to shoulder the full cost of COVID-19 treatment for Filipinos. House of the Representatives (Facebook) Making appeals Thursday were Anakalusugan Party-List Rep. Mike Defensor and Quezon City 2nd district Rep. Precious Hipolito-Castelo, who are both ranking members of the House. Defensor, vice chairman of the House Committee on Health, said PhilHealth “has the resources and backing of the national government to absorb the entire cost of treating COVID-19 patients.” “For this year, PhilHealth expects to collect more than P104 billion in contributions from members. In addition to that, it is receiving a budgetary subsidy of P71.3 billion. This means that it has at least P175 billion, excluding income from investments,” he said. He noted that in 2018, the state health insurance firm collected P118 billion in contributions and posted a net profit of P8 billion. “Clearly, it has the financial capacity to shoulder the full cost of hospitalization of COVID-19 patients,” Defensor added. PhilHealth Executive Vice President for Corporate Affairs Shirley Domingo had earlier announced its treatment cost limits, namely: P43,997 for mild pneumonia, P143,267 for moderate pneumonia, P333,519 for severe pneumonia, and P786,384 for critical pneumonia leading to COVID-19. Defensor said putting a limit on treatment expenses the government will bear “will prejudice poor patients who might shy away from seeking medical care due to the huge cost involved.” “That is the last thing President Duterte and we, in Congress, want in passing the Bayanihan to Heal As One Law. We will not heal as one in fighting this pandemic if we leave out the poor,” he said. Castelo said Domingo’s announcement is a complete reversal of the statement made by PhilHealth President Ricardo Morales last April 2 that the government, through PhilHealth, would bear the full cost of treating infected patients. “It is the poor and senior citizens who will not be able to pay for the excess cost of treatment,” said the House Metro Manila Development Committee vice chairperson. She said Morales and Domingo shouldn't expect many infections to develop into severe COVID-19 “since based on official projections, less than five percent of the cases would be severe and critical, while at least 80 percent would be mild and moderate.” Castelo pointed out that PhilHealth can seek additional funds from the national government and Congress if it's running short on money for helping COVID-19 patients. Committee on Constitutional Amendments chairman and Cagayan de Oro 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez had earlier said that PhilHealth should undo its decision to impose treatment cost limits.