PhilHealth cuts cost of COVID-19 test

MANILA, Philippines — After being criticized for its allegedly overpriced testing cost of P8,150 for COVID-19, the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) on Wednesday said it had lowered its testing payment scheme to P3,409.

In a statement, PhilHealth spokesperson Shirley Domingo said the adjustment was prompted by the “increased availability and affordability of testing kits in the market and the increased number of qualified facilities to do SARS-CoV-2 testing.”

Under its new price schedule, PhilHealth will pay P3,409 if all services and test kits are procured and provided by the testing laboratory.

If the test kits are donated, PhilHealth will pay P2,077, down from P5,450.

In public hospitals, where lab and testing costs are included in the budget, Philhealth will pay P901 if the test kit is donated, instead of P2,710.

The Philhealth board will be releasing the new guidelines soon and when this testing package would become effective.