PhilHealth to cover COVID-19 testing costs - Nograles

The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) will now shoulder testing costs for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a Malacañang official said Wednesday.

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said COVID-19 tests in hospitals would be covered by PhilHealth on top of coverage for quarantine and isolation costs.

“Given this, the last thing we want is for our citizens to worry about medical costs and expenses. Their only concern should be their well-being and the well-being of their families,” he said.

He also said PhilHealth president and CEO Ricardo Morales informed him that the agency is now in the process of formalizing and operationalizing the new benefit.

Nograles is a member of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, the body overseeing government efforts in addressing the threat of the deadly virus.

President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday declared a state of public health emergency throughout the Philippines, which already had 33 cases of COVID-19 as of Tuesday.—AOL, GMA News