MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 8, 2012) – The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation said it expects to post a P10-billion increase in total benefit payments to its members and dependents this year.
“We are on track to delivering between P44 billion to P47 billion worth of benefits this year, or 30 percent greater than the P34 billion we paid in 2011,” Philhealth president and chief executive officer Dr. Eduardo Banzon said in a statement to the Mindanao Examiner.
He said Philhealth has already distributed P32 billion in cumulative benefits from January to September this year, up by P8 billion or 33 percent compared to the P24 billion dispensed over the same nine-month period in 2011.
“Since August this year, we’ve already averaged nearly P1 billion in benefit payments every week,” he said while attributing the huge increase in benefit payments to new and improved subsidies to multiple medical cases, plus expanded coverage as a result of more members and dependents enlisted.
Philhealth approved the launch of large benefit packs for catastrophic ailments affecting a growing number of members and dependents, including P600,000 for low-risk, end-stage renal disease requiring a kidney transplant; P210,000 for standard-risk childhood leukaemia; P100,000 for early stage breast cancer; and P100,000 for low- to intermediate-risk prostate cancer.
It also introduced an P11,000-case rate payment for leptospirosis, the most common disease transmitted to people from animals, mainly rats; and a P3,000-Animal Bite Pack for rabies post-exposure prophylaxis.
These are on top of existing case rate payments for several medical conditions, including P38,000 for cerebro-vascular accident with haemorrhage; P32,000 for high-risk pneumonia; P28,000 for cerebral infraction; P16,000 for dengue hemorrhagic fever with presence of shock; P15,000 for moderate-risk pneumonia; P14,000 for typhoid fever; P9,000 for essential hypertension; P9,000 for asthma; P8,000 for dengue fever or simple DHF; and P6,000 for acute gastroenteritis. The payments cover the full cost of treatment, hospitalization and professional fees.
Philhealth said it enlisted some 5.2 million of the country’s poorest families covered under the Department of Social Welfare Department’s National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction and this includes all families receiving conditional cash transfers. And another 5 million disadvantaged families not covered by the NHTS-PR. Their premiums have been subsidized by their local governments.
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