PhilHealth to cover testing, quarantine

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang yesterday allayed public fears on the high cost of getting tested for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by directing concerned government agencies to shoulder the fees.

President Duterte ordered the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to cover the cost so the public need not worry about the expenses that can be incurred for seeking treatment.

Secretary to the Cabinet Karlo Nograles gave assurance that the cost for undergoing COVID-19 tests in hospitals would be covered by PhilHealth, apart from possible quarantine.

“The President recognizes that everyone in the country is concerned about COVID-19 and the threat it poses to the health and lives of our loved ones, especially vulnerable individuals like senior citizens,” Nograles, a member of the interagency task force for the management of emerging infectious diseases, said.

“The last thing we want is for our citizens to worry about medical costs and expenses. Their only concern should be their well-being as well as that of their families,” Nograles said.

PhilHealth chief executive officer Ricardo Morales informed Duterte that the agency is in the process of formalizing and operationalizing the new benefit.

The government is also working overtime to ensure adequate supply of COVID-19 testing kits and hasten identification and isolation of infected individuals.

“We are fast-tracking the deployment of these kits so these can be used at the soonest possible time. According to Dr. Destura of Manila Healthtek, the rapid diagnostic test kit for COVID-19 is set for field validation study and the UP-PGH and the National Institutes for Health (NIH) have agreed to support the study,” Nograles said.

“At this point, they just need to validate 500 tests for COVID-19 to enable them to conduct clinical sensitivity analysis as a pre-condition set by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). Once it passes the clinical test, the FDA will grant full access to all hospitals, as guided by the DOH,” he added.

Some private hospitals have signified their intention to join the field validation and the NIH is hoping to secure approval from the ethics committee for field validation testing by Friday, Nograles said.