Bacolod City – With enormous funds of P466 billion worth of investible funds and P68.4 billion net income, AGRI party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee urged the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to expand benefits given to members.
While he lauded PhilHealth for the 30 percent increase in health benefit packages for its members, Lee, who met with Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, prior to his speaking engagement at a hotel in Bacolod City, called on the agency to expand healthcare services.
“(As much as possible) we want 100 percent coverage,” he said. “PhilHealth can do that and even expand the benefits, Lee further said, as he also noted an increase in premium set by the state insurer for its members.
Lee earlier filed House Resolution No. 1407 urging the PhilHealth to update and increase its coverage by 30 percent noting that its case rate is no longer responsive to the hospitalization cost of beneficiaries, as this has not been adjusted for over a decade now, which the state insurer complied with on February 14.
“In the case of cancer, we know that the treatment cannot be done in installments. We want to make it unlimited and what needs to be treated for cancer, PhilHealth needs to answer all that,” Lee stressed.
He reported that the PhilHealth breast cancer coverage now rose to P1.4 million, from P100,00, and dialysis sessions were also increased from 90 to 156.
Each session costs P4,000 for the government. (Gilbert Bayoran via The Visayan Daily Star)