State health maintenance agency Philippine Health Insurance Corp., or PhilHealth, is committed to enhancing its services and patients’ benefit package.

PhilHealth president and CEO Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. made this commitment during the recent hearing of the House health committee.

“We are one we are one with Speaker Martin when he says we have to aggressively and continuously increase the case packages of PhilHealth across the board,” Ledesma said.

Ledesma said as part of PhilHealth’s mandate, they would increase the benefit packages to make it easier for Filipinos to avail of healthcare services.

He added that it would be better for the country and its healthcare system if Filipinos could enjoy significantly lower out-of-pocket medical expenses.

PhilHealth’s vice president Eli Santos echoed Ledesma’s statement, saying he fully supports Romualdez’s directive for a review of their charter to expand patient benefits, including early cancer detection and to explore ways to provide more comprehensive healthcare coverage.

Safeguarding health

“We will be able to fulfill and comply with the directive of our Honorable Speaker Martin Romualdez,” he said.

“We submit to the directive of our Honorable Speaker and the Committee to focus our resources on safeguarding the health of the populace.”

Santos said the review of the charter should also look into PhilHealth’s investment strategies to ensure its funds are used in ways that directly benefit the health and well-being of the Filipino people.