SEN. Christopher “Bong” Go yesterday said the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) should enhance its information dissemination campaign after a hospital misinterpreted its policy on the 24-hour confinement rule.
Go made the call after his attention was caught by a Facebook post related to the case of a newborn child who needed to be rushed back to the hospital just hours after being discharged.
The post showed that the hospital supposedly did not allow the infant’s parents to avail of PhilHealth benefits on their return. The hospital purportedly said a 24-hour interval was necessary before the newborn could again avail of the state insurer’s benefits.
Go did not name the hospital.
He said the case involved an infant who was born on February 22 and was discharged on February 26. But due to unforeseen complications, the newborn required hospital admission on the same day.
Go said the hospital apparently misinterpreted the PhilHealth policy, which caused unjust denial of benefits to the parents of the baby.
“Nakakagalit naman ang ganitong patakaran. Wala namang pinipiling oras ang sakit lalo na sa bagong silang na sanggol. Buhay ang nakataya dito. Lahat naman ng Pilipino ay miyembro ng PhilHealth at dapat makakuha ng benepisyo ayon sa Universal Health Care Law (This policy is infuriating. Sickness knows no timing especially to a newborn. The infant’s life is at stake here. All Filipinos are members of PhilHealth and they deserve to get due benefits under the Universal Health Care Law),” he said.
With this, Go said PhilHealth should work double time to intensify its information dissemination strategies since effective communication ensures that both healthcare providers and patients are well-informed of their rights and the scope of coverage, thus misunderstandings are prevented.
He said that while hearings conducted by the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, which he chairs, have pressured PhilHealth to review and revise such policies, “cases like this persist.”
“I have conducted 13 hearings on the state of the country’s healthcare system, which include outdated anti-poor policies of PhilHealth like the 24-hour confinement rule and the single period of confinement policy. Due to my continuous appeals, those were stopped and revised. But why is this particular case happening?” he said in Filipino.
