Lawmaker calls for another 30% increase in PhilHealth benefits

Image from PhilHealth Facebook.

MANILA – A House of Representatives resolution is urging the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to implement another round of 30-percent increase in all its benefit packages and coverage.

House Resolution No.1900, filed by Agri Party-List Rep. Wilbert Lee, seeks to determine how PhilHealth can expeditiously increase the current benefits and introduce new benefit packages such as the inclusion of vital diagnostic tests and other essential laboratory exams as outpatient services.

“PhilHealth shall serve as the national healthcare provider and not as an investment powerhouse. It is mandated and obliged to utilize most of the funds to increase the program’s benefits and decrease the amount of members’ contributions,” Lee said in a media release.

For the best interest of the beneficiaries and contributors, he emphasized the need to increase all benefit packages and coverage of PhilHealth to ultimately lower the out-of pocket costs of Filipinos for their healthcare needs.

Lee also said that he sent a letter to PhilHealth president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. on Thursday, urging the state insurer to implement the increase.

He cited PhilHealth’s availability of substantial funds and the transfer of PHP89.9 billion in excess savings to the national treasury, proving that it is more than able to expand its benefit packages and can even introduce new benefits to cover more of the actual hospitalization costs.

To recall, Lee fervently pushed for the 30-percent across-the-board increase in PhilHealth benefits implemented on Feb. 14.

“Imbes na sa PhilHealth bumawas ng pondo, kunin na lang sa mga GOCCs (government-owned and controlled corporations) na hindi related sa social services ang mandato at may iba pang excess funds mula sa kanilang investments at profit (Instead of taking funds from PhilHealth, just get them from GOCCs which are not related to social services and have other excess funds from their investments and profits),” Lee said.

He lamented that PET (positron emission tomography) and CT (computed tomography) scans, and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) are not PhilHealth-covered services.