PhilHealth is stepping up health protection against extreme heat and heat-related illnesses, heeding President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s call for proactive government action on climate change. Anchored on the Unified National Agenda for Health, PhilHealth is working with the Department of Health (DOH) as PAGASA warns of a strong El Niño persisting through mid 2027, with rising risks of heat stroke, dehydration, asthma, hypertension, dengue, and water borne infections.
In support of this directive, PhilHealth is urging families to register and visit their chosen YAKAP Clinic and avail the preventive and primary care benefits to help protect against heat related health risks. Through the Yaman ng Kalusugan Program or YAKAP, members can access consultations, appropriate laboratory and diagnostic tests, and outpatient cancer screening, while eligible members may receive up to P20,000 worth of essential outpatient medicines annually. Regular checkups can help detect and manage conditions that may worsen during extreme heat, such as hypertension, diabetes, and respiratory diseases.
PhilHealth reminds its members that it provides both outpatient and inpatient coverage. Through the Outpatient Emergency Care Benefit (OECB), non-admitted ER services—such as doctor consultations, diagnostic tests, imaging, emergency procedures, and essential medicines—are covered. For severe conditions requiring hospital confinement, PhilHealth pays direct fixed case rates to accredited hospitals for seasonal infections and heat-related illnesses, including typhoid fever (P19,500), heat fatigue (P18,135), sore eyes (P16,575), heat stroke or cramps (P12,675), acute gastroenteritis (P11,700), and chickenpox or moderate-to severe dehydration (P7,800).
To register for YAKAP, members can select their YAKAP Clinic online through the PhilHealth Member Portal or the eGovPH App, or onsite at any PhilHealth Regional Office or Local Health Insurance Office nationwide. For questions on benefit packages and partner facilities, call the PhilHealth Corporate Action Center at (02) 8662-2588 or visit www.philhealth.gov.ph.
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