Press Release - Escudero to Philhealth: Revisit definition of 'indigent' for health purposes

Senate President Chiz Escudero called on the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to rethink what it means to be indigent when it comes to the health requirements of Filipinos.

Insofar as the health of people is concerned, Escudero said being indigent takes on a whole different meaning.

"Any person who is sick or who has a family member or loved one suffering from cancer, heart, kidney or lung disease is considered an indigent," Escudero explained.

"Even if that individual is earning 28,000 pesos, 68,000 pesos or even 100,000 pesos per month, given the daily expenses for food, housing, medicines and other bills, that person is cancer indigent, heart disease indigent, lung disease indigent or kidney failure indigent. This should be the new outlook of the government toward healthcare," he pointed out.

In its current effort to adjust the case rates for inpatient members, Escudero said PhilHealth should take into account the amount of contributions members are making on a regular basis.

Similar to how it works with various insurance products, the Senate President said the level of benefits received would vary based on how much premium is being paid by the clients.

During a hearing of the Committee on Health, Escudero asked PhilHealth officials if they did the math in determining how much benefits a member should receive.

"Bakit hindi tumugma 'yung actuarial study ng kontribusyon doon sa benepisyo na binibigay? After several questions, bakit ganon kadali magsabing 30 percent? Bakit hindi 50 percent? Bakit hindi 100%? Is there an actuarial study that is based on?" Escudero asked.

If the level of contributions to PhilHealth by employees is based on the amount of compensation they receive, Escudero asked why the state health insurance firm has only a single case rate that applies to all members.

"Bakit 'yung case rate iisa, magkano man ang kontribusyon mo? Parang 'yun pa lang may mali na. Hindi ba ang tipikal na insurance, sa pribado bibili ka ng package at depende sa premium na binayaran mo, 'yun ang makukuha mong benepisyo. Bakit sa Philhealth 'yung case rate ay aplikable sa lahat kahit magkano 'yung kontribusyon mo? Baka 'yan ang rason kung bakit