Amending the law that created PhilHealth should be among the top priorities of the 20th Congress

Last Wednesday, May 28, I received a message from an officer of the NCR South Branch of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), apologizing “for the late revert on your inquiries on PhilHealth benefit for heart related conditions.”

- OSCAR P. LAGMAN, JR.

It was in response to a letter I sent to PhilHealth president Emmanuel Ledesma on Jan. 7.

Actually, PhilHealth’s Corporate Action Center had replied on Jan. 16 to my letter to Mr. Ledesma. The writer of the May 28 missive was obviously unaware that the Corporate Action Center had replied in due time to my letter to Mr. Ledesma. It shows how PhilHealth operates. Here is what went on before I received the letter this May.

Upon seeing the PhilHealth announcement in BusinessWorld on Jan. 7 that the benefits for heart disease had increased 15-fold, I wrote to Mr. Ledesma on the same day, asking him how and where I could avail myself of the announced increase in benefits such as subsidized maintenance medicines and regular laboratory/diagnostic tests.

I have been taking a handful of maintenance medicine twice a day, and having blood chemistry tests every four months and 2-D Echo tests every six months. I buy the medicines from drugstores, and get the tests done in private laboratory/diagnostic centers.

I asked Mr. Ledesma if I had to obtain the medicines and avail myself of the laboratory/diagnostic tests services of PhilHealth’s Konsulta, or if I could continue buying the medicines from drugstores and having the tests done in commercial diagnostic centers, with PhilHealth reimbursing me the amount equivalent to the Konsulta benefit package.

On Jan. 16, I received from the Corporate Action Center of PhilHealth some reference files as their reply to my Jan. 7 letter. The files were for Benefits Package for Ischemic Heart Disease — Acute Myocardial Infarction, Implementing Guideline for the PhilHealth Konsultasyong Sulit at Tama Heart Disease, and List of Accredited Konsulta Package Providers for CY 2024.