HOUSE Deputy Speaker and Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar has proposed expanding the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.’s (PhilHealth) benefit packages to cover all mental health disorders regardless of age group.
Villar filed House Bill (HB) 10934, or the proposed Comprehensive Mental Health Benefits Act, last September 18.
The lawmaker cited the Philippine Council for Mental Health’s Mental Health Strategic Plan 2019-2023, which showed that about 3.3 million Filipinos lived with depression.
“In order to address this seeming mental health crisis among our population, this bill shall expand the coverage of the benefit package to include all mental health disorders and regardless of age group,” Villar said in the bill’s explanatory note.
Under the bill, the benefit package shall cover “therapy sessions, emergency services, psychiatric and neurological services,” and the Mental Health Gap Action Program.
“This bill also addresses the rising costs of mental health treatment by mandating an appropriate increase in PhilHealth’s benefits package, taking into consideration the current costs in medical services,” Villar said.
Last September 18, Villar also filed HB 10929, which sought to grant a mental health wellness leave to workers in the public and private sectors.
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