Government Plans to Include Mental Health Care in PhilHealth Packages
The Philippine government is contemplating the inclusion of mental health care in the packages of the state health insurer, the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth). This move aims to raise awareness about mental health and provide competitive compensation to mental health professionals.
The Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD), a part of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), emphasized the significance of mental health, which was brought to the forefront during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns. Cases of depression, anxiety, and traumatic disorders surfaced during the pandemic, highlighting the need for community awareness about mental health concerns.
Jaime Montoya, the executive director of the DOST-PCHRD, stated, “Even before the pandemic, we were already conducting mental health research and development, even prior to the passage of the mental health law in 2018. This has helped in raising awareness among Filipinos about the importance of mental health.”
The PCHRD is coordinating with the Department of Health to support mental health at the primary level. Traditionally, mental health care has been at the “tertiary level” of health. However, the PCHRD aims to change this by bringing mental health care to the community level, as it should not be confined to hospitals only.
Montoya pointed out that barangay health workers often lack knowledge about mental health. “That is part of our objective. We are developing modules that will be adopted. We have separate projects on that which can be used by health workers and not just by doctors and nurses,” he added.
These projects can aid in the early detection of mental health problems and therefore, enable the implementation of appropriate interventions. Currently, the PCHRD is working with PhilHealth to include mental health care in its packages, ensuring that professionals receive the right compensation.