PhilHealth-7 paid P52M for COVID-related coverages – report

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CEBU CITY, Philippines – The Philippine Health Insurance Incorporation in Central Visayas (PhilHealth -7) has released at least P52 million as payment for medical services related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a government report said.

The Philippine Information Agency in the region (PIA – 7) quoted PhilHealth-7 public information officer Dina Cinchez saying that the state-run firm shelled out a total of P52 million for COVID-19-related coverages since February 1.

Cinchez told PIA-7 in the latter’s Straight from the Source program held last week that their organization has covered 369 hospitalizations and 5,609 testing claims of coronavirus patients in the region.

“The big chunk of this amount is on the confinement claims of our members, who needed to be hospitalized due to COVID-19 as diagnosed by our physicians,” Cinchez said during the program.

“Our coverage for our members’ hospitalization and testing for COVID-19 and full coverage for our confined medical health workers, including allied health workers in public and private hospitals, shall continue as long as our country is under a National State of Public Health Emergency,” she added.

Central Visayas is the region outside Metro Manila with the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the country.  It recorded its first confirmed COVID-19 patient last February, a 60-year-old female Chinese tourist from Wuhan in Hubei province, China, who spent her holidays in Tagbilaran City, Bohol.

READ: DOH-7 still tracing persons that 60-year-old nCoV-positive Chinese encountered in Cebu, Bohol

Dozens of individuals, including health workers, were reportedly exposed to the patients. A couple of months later, community transmission was reported in Cebu City, the capital of Cebu province.

PhilHealth, which is currently the subject of a Senate probe on allegations of corruption, has set guidelines for COVID-19 hospitalization and testing packages for its members.

Hospitalization coverages from PhilHealth range between P43,000 to P700,000 while testing packages can only be used if some conditions were met.

This applies to individuals showing mild to severe symptoms of the disease, those with significant exposure to previously confirmed patients, and/or those with travel history to identified COVID-19 hotspots.

Central Visayas has at least a total of seven molecular laboratories accredited to carry out COVID-19 tests.  / dcb