Where I live in Utah, things are basically back to normal.
School is starting next week…back to normal.
Businesses are open…back to normal.
We’re at Lake Powell this week…back to normal.
The Philippines however, is not back to normal. They’re still masked up and with restrictions in a lot of places.
If your OFS gets Covid, Julia did the research on how they pay if they end up in the hospital.
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Philhealth (our socialized health system), despite its flaws, can be useful if your VA contributes to it regularly. And if your VA catches COVID -19, Philhealth actually has health packages that can help reduce their medical bill.
I’m going to explain here the Philhealth benefits that your VA can get if they contract COVID-19. Please note though that their regulations have been changing every few months. If there are significant changes to the regulation, we’ll let you know once we have more information on it.
So, how can Filipinos avail of the COVID 19 benefit? They have to be:
1. A Philhealth member. If they were diagnosed and confined for COVID-19 before becoming a member, they can still avail of the benefit as long as they become a member before they’re discharged from the hospital.
2. They have to be diagnosed for COVID-19 by an accredited facility using RT-PCR
3. If they were initially diagnosed for COVID but had a negative RT-PCR test, they would still be covered by the intermediate package.
Those who tested positive for COVID-19 and are confined in a Philhealth accredited hospital can avail of the following packages.
Coverage of up to (Php)
Php 43,997 – Mild pneumonia in the elderly or with co-morbidities
Php 143,267 – Moderate pneumonia
Php 333,519 – Severe pneumonia
Php 786,384 – Critical pneumonia
If they were initially treated for COVID-19 and are confined in a Philhealth accredited hospital but tested negative, they can avail for the following packages:
Coverage of up to (Php)
Php 18,000 – Moderate pneumonia
Php 38,000 – Severe/Critical pneumonia
For more information, they can check the links below or go to the Philhealth website directly: philhealth.giv.ph
https://www.philhealth.gov.ph/circulars/2020/circ2020-0009.pdf
https://www.philhealth.gov.ph/circulars/2021/circ2021-0008.pdf
https://www.philhealth.gov.ph/advisories/2021/adv2021-013.pdf
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John