In the latest State Of The Nation Address or SONA, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. talked about the milestones and goals of his administration. One of the highlights he touched on was the increased benefit coverage for breast cancer treatments.
On July 22, 2024, President Marcos Jr., announced that government agency PhilHealth's coverage for breast cancer treatments grew from P100,000 to a whopping (and well-deserved) P1.4 million. This was also reported by the Philippine News Agency in May 2024.
We quote from the President's SONA, "Upang mapa-igting pa ang paglaban natin sa cancer, tinaasan ng PhilHealth nang mahigit isang libong porsyento ang benepisyo para sa pagpapagamot ng breast cancer. Ang dating limit na isandaang libong piso, ngayon ay ginawa na nating P1.4 million."
The government plans to increase support for other types of cancer
Aside from medical procedures for breast cancer, President Marcos Jr. also mentioned future plans to increase coverage for colon cancer patients. He noted that chemotherapy for illnesses will be included in PhilHealth's benefits before 2024 ends.
"Ang benepisyo naman para sa colon cancer ay pinag-ibayo na rin. At bago matapos ang taon, maisasama na rin sa mga benepisyo ng PhilHealth ang chemotherapy para sa cancer sa baga, atay, ovary, at prostate," the President declared.
PhilHealth categorizes this increase in coverage as the "Z Benefit" package. This initiative aims to boost the financial support for patients with Stages 0 to 4 of breast cancer so they can have a more "holistic" treatment. It includes diagnostic tests but also offers up-to-date breast cancer assessment when detecting relapse after surgery.
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Why is this increased benefit package for breast cancer patients important?
In 2023 alone, the Philippines logged that 65 percent of breast cancer cases are all tagged as the advanced or last stages of the disease. There is a notable lack of detection and treatment for Filipinas out there, as reported by the Philippine News Agency.
Breast cancer is a widely known disease that mostly affects women—but take note that it can also be detected in men. In 2023, Dr. Corazon Ngelangel from the Philippine Cancer Society underscored that the disease's survival rate among Filipinos only is 44.4 percent.
"There are 27,163 new cases a year and 9,906 deaths in a year for both sexes," Dr. Corazon said in a report.
Reports also state that tests for cancer detection range from P1,000 to 10,000 already. Adding all the other procedures, like mastectomy which can cost up to P140,000, plus chemotherapy—the initial P100,000 financial package was clearly not enough.
With the new financial benefit, the government targets to cover most procedures for the patients. PNA reported, "The bulk of the package goes to targeted therapy amounting to more than PHP1 million coverage, which translates to PHP333,336 for 18 maximum cycles."
In March 2024, Health Department Chief Ted Herbosa also confirmed that PhilHealth will be launching free breast cancer tests under their medical package. Dr. Ted explained the benefits of having free breast cancer tests under the PhilHealth system. "It will ensure sustainable financing of preventive health services that can catch cancer and other conditions early. So that we can unload higher-level hospitals within the healthcare provider network," an official statement read.
