PhilHealth has reminded members that outpatient mental health benefit is available to them under its newly expanded Yaman ng Kalusugan Program (YAKAP).

The package specifically covers severe mental health conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) — offering help to those affected by natural disasters, violence or extreme stress. The benefit is designed to provide not just financial support, but also dignity and hope to those who previously had little access to mental health care.

Dr. Jaime Montoya, executive director of the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development, said the outpatient benefit package for mental health was developed through the PhilHealth STUDIES (Supporting the Thrust for Universal Health Care through Data, Information and Knowledge-Exchange Systems).

“The implementation of initiatives based on data is the intent behind PhilHealth STUDIES. We want to employ the same practice not just in determining which benefit package to develop but also in identifying whether our packages are truly responsive,” Dr. Edwin Mercado, acting president and CEO of PhilHealth, said at the PhilHealth STUDIES Conference at the Marquis Hotel in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig on 18 September.

“YAKAP is a shift toward primary care to address the significant gaps in access to health services, and we ensure that our health benefit programs align with the needs of the Filipino people,” he added.