PhilHealth vows to implement 30% increase in benefit packages, settle hospital debts

STATE-RUN Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) will increase its benefit packages by 30%, its head told a House of Representatives committee on Wednesday.

“We are in the process… we’re about to increase across-theboard the benefit packages of PhilHealth by 30%, almost acrossthe-board,” PhilHealth President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel R. Ledesma, Jr. told the House Committee on Health.

“With regard to increasing the benefit packages, that’s really what PhilHealth [is] doing,” said Mr.

Ledesama. “We have to increase the benefit packages, make things easier for people — the less outof-pocket, better for the country.”

House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez at the weekend called on PhilHealth to shoulder 50% of a patient’s medical bills and include the benefit of free examinations for early detection of diseases.

The House leader earlier cited complaints that PhilHealth only covers 15% to 20% of patients’ hospital bills.

The House Ways and Means Committee is also set to review the PhilHealth charter and consider expanding patients’ benefits, panel chairman and Albay Rep. Jose Ma. Clemente S. Salceda said on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Mr. Ledesma also discussed its settlement of claims, saying that PhilHealth has paid hospitals P50 billion from August to December, 2023.

“And in line with that, I think it’s very clear that the P27 billion which we promised were complied with,” he told the committee.

Back in September, PhilHealth vowed during a House hearing to pay local hospitals debts amounting to P27 billion within three months.

“Within the next few months, until the end of the year, there will be much, much less complaints, if not zero complaints already, because we are perfecting the system,” Mr. Ledesma told congressmen.