THE House Committee on Health chaired by Rep. Ciriaco Gato Jr. (Lone District, Batanes) on Wednesday approved 17 House Bills (HBs) mandating the provision of comprehensive renal replacement therapy (RRT) to patients with end stage renal disease in national, regional, and provincial government hospitals.
According to Gato, about 2.3 million Filipino patients could benefit from the measure’s passage.
The mandatory RRT stipulated in HBs 505, 583, 709, 796, 983, 1722, 1991, 2012, 2630, 2738, 3042, 3497, 4171, 4248, 5144, 3239, and 5862 shall increase the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) package rate for members.
The panel also passed a proposed amendment to include senior citizens as beneficiaries of the free dialysis treatment stipulated in the bill.
Lawmakers likewise approved HBs 85, 156, 430, 1713, 1719, 1785, 2035, 2092, 2254, 2496, 2782, 2797, 3381, 3616, 4571, 5074, 5454, and 6238, which seek to provide Filipinos with free medical check-up annually. Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo (2nd District, Marikina City) said this service would help strengthen the delivery of primary health care services in the country.
While the PhilHealth would implement the program, she said that the funding for the program must come from the national government and included in the annual budget.
Also passed were 1) HB 6772, granting the President of the Philippines the power to suspend and adjust the period of implementation of the scheduled increase of premium rates for direct contributors of the PhilHealth in times of national emergencies/calamities or when public interest so requires, and 2) HBs 2720, 7144, and 4547, providing for the rehabilitation and modernization of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), and creating the PGH Rehabilitation and Modernization Fund.
The secretariat was instructed to draft the consolidated versions of the approved bills, as well as their corresponding committee reports.
