MANILA, November 24 ------ The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) endorsed better benefit packages for heart attacks, 10 rare diseases, preventive oral health at primary care, peritoneal dialysis and assistive mobility devices.
In a news release, the state insurer said that Board of Directors chair and Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa made the endorsement to the board en banc which will meet next month. "The job of PhilHealth is to pay the health benefits of its members. It is President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s standing instruction for the DOH to steer PhilHealth along these lines through its Board," he said. "To lower the health expenses of Filipino families, radical change must happen from within PhilHealth. It has to do better – settling all arrears, paying reimbursement claims faster, and increasing cost coverage," he added.
The creation of a new benefit package or enhancement of existing packages involves benefit development; policy development; policy approval; IT system development; publication; IT system enhancement; user training or orientation; and effectiveness assessment. The Board is in charge of policy development and policy approval. Meanwhile, the president and chief executive officer directly controls the remaining procedures.
The endorsed benefit packages for approval include a package for acute myocardial infarction or heart attacks across the continuum of care and a package for each of these rare diseases – Maple Syrup Urine Disease, Methylmalonic Acidemia/Propionic Acidemia, Galactosemia, Phenylketonuria, Gaucher Disease, Pompe Disease, Fabry Disease, MPS II (Hunter Syndrome), MPS IV (Morquio Syndrome) and Osteogenesis Imperfecta.
Preventive oral health services to complement the PhilHealth Konsulta package; improved coverage for Peritoneal Dialysis; and assistive mobility devices for priority conditions in need for physical rehabilitation were also endorsed.
Source: pna.gov.ph
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