PhilHealth covers MERS-CoV patients

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) will be providing a benefits package for confirmed cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

Confirmed cases of MERS-CoV are those that have been tested at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), PhilHealth said.

PhilHealth members, whether health or nonhealth workers, may avail of the benefits in an accredited healthcare institution that has the capabilities and facilities to manage MERS-CoV, such as those with negative isolation rooms and respirators, the agency said.

Under the benefits package, nonhealth workers will be provided up to a maximum of P50,000, while health workers can get as much as P100,000.

Nonhealth workers will be allocated a maximum of P10,000 (P1,500 per day) for room and board; P15,000 (P1,000 per day) for professional fees, and P25,000 for the medicines, laboratory tests, personal protective equipment and ambulance.

Health workers are entitled to a maximum P10,000 (P1,500 per day) for room and board; P30,000 (P1,000 per day) for professional fees, and P60,000 for medicines, laboratory tests, personal protective equipment and ambulance.

PhilHealth defines qualified “health workers” as those employees or institutional workers of a health care institution, whether located in the Philippines or abroad, that cared for, or had close contact with, a MERS-CoV patient and may have contracted the infection while performing such duty. Tina G. Santos