MikeLigalig.com

The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) has assured continued coverage for facility-based deliveries to mothers as part of efforts to address maternal deaths during pregnancy or delivery.

“More than ever, there is now a greater sense of urgency to strengthen our efforts towards protecting our mothers,” said Dr. Eduardo P. Banzon, President and CEO of PhilHealth in response to the 2011 Family Health Survey on maternal deaths released recently by the National Statistics Office (NSO).

Accordingly, maternal deaths during pregnancy or delivery are primarily due to delays in seeking medical care, in reaching appropriate care, or in receiving care at health facilities.

To address these delays, PhilHealth started providing coverage for facility-based deliveries since 2003 through its Normal Spontaneous Delivery (NSD) Package for accredited government and private hospitals and Maternity Care Package (MCP) for non-hospital facilities.

Banzon said over the years the package had expanded from covering only the first normal delivery at P4,500 to four deliveries at P8,000. It also ensures that the whole spectrum of care – from prenatal to postnatal – is delivered.

Combined with the No Balance Billing or “Walang Dagdag Bayad” policy for all member types, mothers need not worry about expenses they would incur when delivering in Phil Health-accredited non-hospital facilities and government hospitals.

“The package is there, but there remains to be significant barriers to access to this package. This is precisely why we launched the 1MOM (1Municipality, One MCP Provider) Campaign”, Banzon said, noting that the campaign promotes access by proactively ensuring that there is at least one PhilHealth-accredited provider in each municipality.

“Accreditation is critical, as it not only improves quality of care through implementation of standards, but also assures a steady inflow of resources to the facility. This money can be used to enhance the facility’s infrastructure, procure more supplies and equipment, and provide incentives to the staff, thereby capacitating them to provide better care to mothers,” Banzon said.

From 198 accredited facilities in 2007, the number has increased to 998 as of March 2012,” added Dr.Narisa J. Sugay, head of PhilHealth Accreditation Department and MDG Benefits Team, adding that despite the increase in number it revealed that only 607 out of 1,646 municipalities and cities has at least one accredited MCP provider.

"Clearly, much still needs to be done. But we are very much willing to streamline processes and provide necessary support to get more providers on-board,” Sugay added.

"But PhilHealth cannot do this alone. The 1MOM Campaign is a call to action for players within and outside the health sector. If you believe that it’s unacceptable that our mothers are dying, join us in this campaign. There are many opportunities for you to contribute,” said Banzon.

Among the areas of collaboration that the campaign offers are developing management skills of frontline providers including midwives; generating resources for health facility enhancement to improve delivery of basic and comprehensive emergency care;and designing creative information, education, and communication programs for mothers, he said.

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Phil Health should not only cover pre-natal care, but also post-natal care for the infants in the Philippines !! A problem that is pragmatic in Filipino children is malnourishment and proper medical checkup. The nation can benefit by granting children have right to free care in the Philippine hospital systems.

Don't stop there, also give free health care for the elderly ! The young and the elderly are two very vulnerable population groups.

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