DOH, PhilHealth to boost healthcare benefits for middle-class Filipinos

The Department of Health (DOH) and Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) are working to expand healthcare benefits and packages, particularly for middle-income Filipinos, to improve affordability and access.

Executive Secretary Ralph Recto met with DOH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa and PhilHealth President and CEO Edwin Mercado on Jan. 20 to discuss system-wide solutions for healthcare concerns under the Universal Health Care Law.

Recto emphasized the need to prioritize contributors, especially middle-class Filipinos who consistently pay taxes and PhilHealth premiums, so they receive benefits commensurate with their contributions.

PhilHealth Spokesperson Dr. Israel Francis Pargas asserted the entitlement of the healthcare benefits and packages to the contributors of PhilHealth, either directly or indirectly. 

“The benefits are given to everyone, whether you paid or failed to pay or continuously pay contributions, you will be provided the PhilHealth benefits if you need them. You can still get them even if you did not pay your premium contribution,” he said t=on DZMM Teleradyo. 

Herbosa then said in a radio episode on Jan. 30 that the middle-class Filipinos should be given better healthcare services, providing upgrades in terms of accommodation in hospitals. 

“We discussed with Executive Ralph Recto that we can give the direct members better accommodation. Since we have basic accommodation, maybe we can upgrade to two patients in a room with an aircon. We can admit them in rooms with aircon so the direct members can enjoy more benefits,” he said at the same radio episode. 

He also considered the implementation of zero-balance billing that will ‘eliminate out-of-pocket’ expenses for indigent patients in hospitals.

“Recto had another suggestion that I approve of, and I will include this (when I talk to) the benefits committee wherein, if the hospital implements zero balance (billing), he wants to add more benefit packages of PhilHealth. That is logical,” he added.

Meanwhile, DOH reported the final stages of completion of the Healthcare Provider Network model that aimed supporting local government units (LGUs) to deliver better quality of health and medical care as well as its referral systems based on Universal Health Care Law.

Recto, on the other hand, pointed out the coordination of the national agencies and LGUs to relieve patients from all classes.