PhilHealth eyed for drug addicts

Detainees sleep on the floor as they await processing during the operations targeting drug personalities, persons with warrant of arrest and violators of city ordinances of the PNP Eastern Police District covering the area of Pasig, Marikina, Mandaluyong and San Juan City at the EPD Headquarters in Pasig. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

THE DEPARTMENT of Health (DOH) is mulling the inclusion of a drug rehabilitation program in the services offered by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).

Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial said the agency is in talks with the Philhealth on the possibility of such a benefit package.

“There are plans, actually, for a benefit package for the acute detoxification phase of drug rehabilitation,” the DOH chief said in an interview.

She explained that the benefit package is likely to cover detoxification, psychosocial support and debriefing.

However, this will only be for the two-week acute detoxification phase and not the entire length of drug rehabilitation.

“Unfortunately, the prolonged residential services for rehabilitation cannot be covered as this takes six to 12 months. So the Philhealth might cover the two-week acute phase,” Ubial said.

She added that in some instances, treatment is more expensive because of the required drugs while in other cases, the treatment involves less costly psychosocial methods.

“We have to look at probably two types of packages,” the DOH chief said, noting that the matter is still being discussed with the Philhealth.

Thousands of drug dependents, some of them peddlers, have surrendered to authorities following the assumption of office of President Duterte last June 30.

The government has yet to lay out a concrete plan for the rehabilitation of the drug dependents.