LAOAG CITY -— Former drug dependents who are members of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. have welcomed the provision of mandatory medical detoxification services under PhilHealth.
Worth Php 10,000 based on PhilHealth Circular No. 2016-0030, all eligible members and dependents of the National Health Insurance Program who need to undergo medical detoxification can avail of this package.
But in Ilocos Norte, Raymond Domingo, Health Insurance Assistant of PhilHealth, said the Central Office has not released specific guidelines for the release of the said package for former drug users.
As a result, no PhilHealth member in Ilocos Norte has availed of this package yet, he added.
“So far, we are still waiting for any advisory from the Central Office how will this be implemented. Probably, our members of the board are still finalizing the Implementing Rules and Regulations,” he added.
There are more than 130,000 PhilHealth members in Ilocos Norte with an average of four dependents.
In support of the drug rehabilitation program of the government spearheaded by the Department of Health, the state-run PhilHealth has come up with a case-rate package which covers the confinement, hospital and professional fees of former drug users who wish to undergo medication.
However, Philhealth clarified the medical detoxification package is just a minimum standards of medical interventions to safely manage the acute physical symptoms of withdrawal associated with stopping drug use.
The package includes physical, mental and neurological exams, urine test, complete blood count, blood sugar, serum, creatinine, chest X-ray, and ECG. LGA/PNA-northboundasia.com