LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – PhilHealth Regional Vice President, Dr. Dominga A. Gadgad, announced a list of new and enhanced Benefit Packages during the institution’s first 2025 Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas forum held at the PhilHealth Building here recently to inform the public of the additional benefits accessible through social health insurance.
In line with the National Health Insurance Month, Dr. Gadgad gave importance to the acquisition of social health insurance in easing the financial hardships brought by sickness and hospital confinement. “Last year, we promised you ‘Pinalawak at mga Bagong Benepisyo para sa Mamamayang Pilipino’ (Improved and New Benefits for the Filipino People). Staying true to that promise, we have broadened our coverage, especially for marginalized sectors,” she stated.
Among those included in the enhanced benefit packages are Hemodialysis; Konsulta + SDG (which covers TB DOTS, malaria, HIV-AIDS, and animal bites); Severe Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever; COVID-19 (in-patient); Ischemic Heart Disease and Acute Myocardial Infarction; Cataract Extraction; Z Benefits, particularly for Kidney Transplantation cases and Peritoneal Dialysis/ Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD).
On the other hand, the newly added Benefit Packages are outpatient emergency care Benefit for those who require urgent medical care but not 24-hour hospitalization in hospital emergency room; Preventive Oral Health Services, which covers procedures such as dental exams, cleaning, fluoride varnish application, sealant application and root surface protection; Pediatric Optometric Services to enable children who are 15 years of age and younger to have financial access to vision assessment and prescription eyeglasses; lastly, Physical Medicine, Rehabilitation, and Assistive Devices.
The new and enhanced benefit packages have been implemented since January this year. With these changes alongside other programs that PhilHealth has set, a rising number of Cordillerans availing social health insurance is expected. By Aiyra Marzan
