PhilHealth covers 66% of hospital costs on average, says exec

FILE PHOTO: Members line up at the counters of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation or PhilHealth. INQUIRER FILES

MANILA, Philippines — State-run Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) covers almost 66 percent of the hospital bills of Filipino members on average, its president and CEO Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. said on Thursday.

Ledesma presented this data during the House Committee on Finance hearing on the proposed 2024 budget of the Department of Health amounting to P311.3 billion.

Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda asked about the extent of the coverage of the bills of Filipino indigents given the Republic Act 11223 or the Universal Healthcare (UHC) Law.

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“Philhealth has a support value of 65.89 percent, which means that for every 100 pesos in hospitalization costs, Philhealth shoulders, on average, 66 pesos,” Ledesma said.

READ: PhilHealth to pay off bulk of P27B hospital dues in 90 days

The UHC law expands access to health services by automatically enrolling all Filipinos in PhilHealth’s National Health Insurance Program.

JPV/abc