MANILA, Philippines —Two lawmakers on Thursday called on the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to restore its no cost limit for treating coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients.

Cagayan de Oro 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez made the call after PhilHealth president Ricardo Morales released a new case rate package for COVID-19 patients who will be hospitalized starting April 15.

ADVERTISEMENT

The move, Rodriguez said, will put the poor at a disadvantage and might push them to not consult with hospitals for fear of additional expenses.

“I am worried of the poor and even the middle class who certainly cannot afford hospitalization and medicines which, based on the account of some who have recovered from the disease, can run to more than a million pesos,” Rodriguez said in a statement.

Morales earlier announced that Philhealth will shoulder the hospital expenses of all COVID-19 patients in the country.

On Tuesday, however, Morales said that while PhilHealth has sufficient funds, a new case rate package for COVID-19 patients is needed to ensure sustainability.

A case rate package sets the maximum amount that PhilHealth will shoulder for a patient for a certain ailment. This means that if the total expenses exceeds the set rate, the patient has to shoulder the excess amount.

The new package divides patients into four categories, depending on the gravity of their condition.

Coverage for mild pneumonia is set at P43,997, moderate pneumonia at P143,267, severe pneumonia at P333,519, and critical pneumonia at P786,384.

Rodriguez, however, said that “the poor and even the middle class cannot pay the excess of the limits set by Morales.”

“I refuse to imagine what could happen to them (the poor),” Rodriguez said.