Negros Occidental makes up 40% of the total cases in the region

The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) recently revealed P81 million has been paid out for dengue-related claims in the Western Visayas. The amount is a 223 percent increase from payments made during the same period last year.
The government healthcare provider said Negros Occidental recorded the most cases with 3,278, which makes up 40 percent of the cases in the region. Iloilo came in second with around 800 less cases, totaling 2,484.
According to PhilHealth-Region VI Assistant Vice President Janet A. Monteverde, eligible patients are provided a package of P10,000 upon diagnosis, while P16,000 is paid out for patients with severe conditions.
Earlier this week, in response to the rising number of dengue fever cases in the Negros Occidental, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson issued an executive order declaring a heightened alert status. He explained, the province has already reached the “alert threshold” and the provincial government wants to avoid breaching the “epidemic threshold.”
“It is still far off at the moment but, still, we just want to raise the alert level for every local government unit,” Lacson said.
The governor noted, district hospitals are fully prepared and he has yet to receive complaints regarding hospitals denying treatment to dengue patients.
Recently, the Negros Occidental Provincial Health Office (PHO) revealed data that showed a 73 percent increase in dengue cases across the province. PHO head, Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, said, between January and June of this year, they have recorded a total of 2,800 dengue cases, up from the 1,600 recorded during the same period last year./WDJ