Manila: The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) has paid nearly PHP27 billion for over two million hemodialysis claims in the first half of 2025, almost matching the PHP28 billion paid for the entire year of 2024.
According to Philippines News Agency, PhilHealth Health Policy Sector Senior Vice President Israel Francis Pargas stated that the sharp increase in claims is indicative of a growing demand for dialysis and continued access to essential life-saving treatment. In contrast, payments for peritoneal dialysis claims were PHP121 million for 14,000 claims during the same period, a significant decrease compared to over PHP400 million for all claims in the previous year.
In a recent interview on Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon, Pargas acknowledged past issues related to payment processes but emphasized ongoing improvements. He noted that the national average for payment processing is now approximately 23 days, well within the allowable period of 60 days.
PhilHealth has also expanded its benefit packages for kidney transplantation, addressing the rising costs associated with this treatment. For adult patients, the package minimum has increased from PHP600,000 to PHP800,000 and can exceed one million, while for children, it can surpass PHP2.1 million.
Last week, the Z Benefit packages for post-kidney transplantation services were introduced for both adult and pediatric patients. These packages include coverage for monthly immunosuppressive medications, prophylactic antibiotics to prevent infection, and quarterly laboratory procedures. Additionally, living donors for pediatric and elderly patients are eligible to receive PHP1,900 for bi-annual laboratory procedures and monitoring.
