MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker is urging the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to exclude from its coverage coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients who had contracted the disease due to “irresponsible and reckless behavior.”
Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) Partylist Rep. Jericho Nograles made the call following reports of shoppers flocking to malls—and not observing physical distancing—after quarantine protocols were eased in parts of the country, including Metro Manila.
“From what I saw during the weekend, it seems to me that people have totally forgotten that the virus is still out there without any vaccine and without any real cure. I really fear for the second wave which could really jeopardize PhilHealth’s viability,” Nograles said in a statement.
“PhilHealth should only help those who deserve to be helped. The same non-coverage should apply for those who are irresponsible enough to throw parties and the like which would endanger the public,” Nograles added.
Nograles proposed that Philhealth set new guidelines in providing health care coverage for COVID-19 patients or else, it could end up wasting the contributions of its members to help “people who deliberately endanger themselves and their community.”
The lawmaker said Philhealth could first conduct an inquiry on how a patient had contracted the coronavirus disease before granting coverage.
Nograles added that full disclosure should be required on how the disease was contracted as this could not only measure the eligibility of a patient but also help authorities conduct contact tracing measures.
“Nagulat talaga ako dahil parang wala na yung COVID-19 noong makita ko sa TV ang mga tao sa malls. Napakaraming pasaway! Kumpol-kumpol at balewala na ang social distancing,” Nograles said.
(I was really surprised because it looked like we no longer have COVID-19 when I saw on TV people flocking in malls. There are so many stubborn people. Crowded and disregarding social distancing.)
“This only shows that many of our people are still underestimating the COVID-19 virus. We will pay for this with a second wave of infection,” the lawmaker added.
As of May 26, there are 14,669 COVID-19 cases in the country, with recoveries at 3,412 and death toll at 886.