Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 23) – The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation announced on Thursday it will cover the approximately ₱7 million hospital bill of the late former Sen. Heherson Alvarez and his wife, theater pillar and artist Cecile Guidote-Alvarez.
PhilHealth Vice President for Corporate Affairs Dr. Shirley Domingo said the couple’s hospitalization, which began when they were admitted at the Manila Doctors Hospital on March 24, is covered by the company’s policy of full payment of the patient’s hospital bills.
“In this case ay full payment talaga ang babayaran natin sa mga hospital bills nila ex-Senator Alvarez,” said Domingo in the daily Department of Health press briefing.
[Translation: In this case, we will apply full payment in the hospital bills of ex-Senator Alvarez and his wife.]
The 80-year old Alvarez, who served as senator from 1987 to 1998, lost his battle with COVID-19 on April 20.
His 76-year old widow, who is the founder of the Philippine Educational Theater Association, was discharged from the hospital on April 15.
Under the agency’s full payment policy, if a patient positive for COVID-19 was confined from February 1 to April 14, PhilHealth will pay in full all costs incurred in the hospitalization.
If a patient was admitted from April 15 onwards, there are already case rates implemented for hospitalization. PhilHealth will cover ₱43,997 for patients with mild pneumonia; ₱143,267 for those with moderate pneumonia; ₱333,519 for those with severe pneumonia; and ₱786,384 for those with critical pneumonia.
The Alvarez couple has two children, Hexilon and Xilca.
As of the latest Department of Health tally published Thursday afternoon, the country has 6,981 COVID-19 cases, with 462 deaths and 722 recoveries.
