DOH: PhilHealth package rate for hemodialysis up to P4K per session

The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) Board of Directors has increased the corporation’s package rate for hemodialysis to P4,000 per session, the Department of Health (DOH) announced on Friday.

This is an increase from the current P2,600 per session.

The DOH said the board also gave explicit approval for catheter insertion and blood transfusion payments that may be claimed separate from the main case rate for admission.

According to the agency, PhilHealth’s move came upon the direction of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the suggestion of Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez. 

PhilHealth is also considering to increase the financial coverage for the Renal Replacement Therapy (RRT), which includes Hemodialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis. 

The RRT covers options for dialysis that treats kidney failure.

“However, these treatments cannot fully cure but only extend the lives of end-stage kidney failure patients,” the DOH pointed out.

Meanwhile, the Health Department said it is developing the Puro Kalusugan program that seeks to enhance healthcare at the community level. 

“We are encouraged by the guidance of  President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., and House Speaker Martin G. Romualdez to pursue safe, high-quality, and people-centered services for all Filipinos,” DOH Secretary Ted Herbosa said in a statement.

“The threat of kidney disease requires support not just in end-stage treatment, but in its prevention and early detection as well. These initiatives bring each Filipino closer to accessing the highest quality healthcare at the lowest cost,” he added. —Joahna Lei Casilao/KBK, GMA Integrated News