NEW PHILHEALTH PACKAGE. Philippine Health Insurance Corporation head for Antique Junie Sabusap on Wednesday (Feb. 26, 2020) says there is an available new benefits package of PHP14,000 for patients under investigation (PUIs). Antique's two former PUIs had availed of the coverage. (PNA photo by Annabel Consuelo J. Petinglay)
SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique – Two Antiqueños, who are patients under investigation (PUIs), are covered by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) which came up with a new health insurance package.
Junie Sabusap, who heads the PhilHealth in Antique province, said in an interview Wednesday that the new health insurance package for the PUIs was crafted after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) as a public health emergency.
“There is a new PhilHealth Circular No. 2020-0004 effective January 30, 2020 that provides a new benefits package of PHP14,000 for the PUI,” he said.
Of the PHP14,000 benefit package, 30 percent will go to the professional fee of the attending doctor and 70 percent for the laboratory examination, medical supplies and room of the admitted PUI.
Sabusap said the benefits package applies to hospitals identified by the Department of Health that can provide appropriate quarantine to the PUI.
“The benefits package could be claimed by the PUIs whether their laboratory examination results turned out to be positive or negative,” he said.
Two seafarers from Antique who were declared as PUIs were admitted at the Angel Salazar Memorial General Hospital (ASMGH). The two had a travel history in places where there are positive cases of coronavirus and they manifested flu-symptom.
The first PUI from Hamtic town had a travel history to China where he stayed overnight in a hotel before coming home to Antique while the second PUI was from Hong Kong.
Both turned out negative for Covid-19 based on the result of their nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs that were sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).
They have been discharged from the hospital upon completion of the 14 days hospital quarantine. (PNA)
