PhilHealth breast cancer coverage now at P1.4 million

PhilHealth breast cancer coverage now at P1.4 million

Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) has raised the benefit package for the treatment of breast cancer, the most prevalent cancer among Filipino women, to more than P1 million.

The coverage for breast cancer under the state insurer’s “Z Benefits” package has gone up significantly, from a measly P100,000 to P1.4 million, up by 1,300 percent, PhilHealth president and CEO Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. said.

The increase was approved by the PhilHealth board in February, but it will take effect this month in celebration of National Women’s Month.

According to Ledesma, the previous P100,000 package for breast cancer was being “laughed at” even by some government officials, for being so low there was no real benefit to the patient.

“Breast cancer is really very common with everyone. That 14 times increase, I think that’s just one of the accomplishments [of PhilHealth] that can put a smile on the face of the Filipino people,” he said.

PhilHealth’s Z benefit package for breast cancer, however, is only available at 18 hospitals across the country—two of which are in Metro Manila: East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City, and Philippine General Hospital in Manila.

The Z benefit packages are services and rates for “Case Type Z,” or catastrophic illnesses that could result in prolonged hospitalization and poor outcomes without early intervention.

This typically includes hospital room and board fees, in-hospital medications, laboratory examinations, operating room fees, and professional fees.

According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), breast cancer is the most common cancer among Filipino women and in the world.

Over 9K deaths in 2020

One in every 100 Filipino women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, the WHO data showed.

In 2020, there were 27,163 new breast cancer cases in the country, and 9,926 Filipinos died of

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