Circular on COVID-19 benefits will no longer be retroactive

An official from the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) said Thursday that the circular on COVID-19 benefit packages would no longer have a retroactive effect.

Attorney Eli Santos, PhilHealth chief operating officer, was referring to the PC 2021-0008, issued on June 17, 2021, "which declared that only confirmed cases shall be covered by the benefit package."

According to Santos, another circular will be issued after the signatures of PhilHealth's board members are completed.

"We brought this to the PhilHealth board so the PhilHealth board already approved the grace period, meaning, there will no longer be a retroactive effect on this circular that we pay only the confirmed cases of the COVID-19." Santos said during a congressional inquiry.

"However, the status now is that the PhilHealth resolution itself, the document itself, is being routed for the signatures of the board members. After such signatures, we will issue the PhilHealth circular. But again, the board already approved the grace period, meaning the application of the confirmed cases, payment of confirmed cases will only be prospective," he added.

Santos said the COVID probable cases, covering the period of November 26, 2020 to June 18, 2021, will be paid.

Lawmakers previously grilled the state insurer over the delay in the retroactivity of its circular on COVID-19 benefit packages.

Under the said circular, patients who are probable COVID-19 cases but eventually had negative RT-PCR test results are covered by Intermediate Package which amounts to P18,000 for moderate pneumonia and P38,000 for severe or critical pneumonia.

It clarifies the Circular No. 2020-0009, which earlier provided coverage for patients confined as probable or confirmed cases of COVID-19. —LBG, GMA News