MANY patients laud the efforts of Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez in line with the pro-poor policy of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. to increase the PhilHealth dialysis package from P2,600 to P4,000 as this will greatly help them defray the costs of chronic kidney disease treatment that truly drains their finances.
Last week, Romualdez expressed gratitude to PhilHealth president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. and Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa for approving his request to increase the dialysis benefits for members following meetings with House Deputy Majority Leader Erwin Tulfo.
Gerwin Acepcion Castor, a hemodialysis patient, said increasing the dialysis benefit of PhilHealth will give him and his family a much-needed financial relief.
“Okay po sa akin yung increase na maging P4,000 kasi malaking tulong sa ibang bayarin pa dito. Sana ‘dun napupunta sa ibang bayarin namin,” he said.
He then thanked the Speaker and the House of Representatives, saying: “Salamat po sa Kongreso sa pagsulong nyo sa PhilHealth para ang mga pasyente na kagaya ko, wala kaming babayaran tuwing salang ng session namin. Maraming salamat po.”
Another patient, 17-year-old Jamaica Mutia Del Rosario, echoed the sentiments of Castor, adding that increasing the financial subsidy will somehow ease the financial burdens of CKD patients.
“Mas okay po na taasan nila ang benepisyo, from 2,600 to 4,000 para kahit papano makatipid kami sa iba pong gastusin lalo napo sa pagda-dialysis po,” Del Rosario noted.
“Sa sobrang dami po naming dialysis patients, hindi naman po lahat kayang magbayad ng pang co-pay, injection, at pang dialyzer,” she added.
“Kay Speaker Romualdez, sana po tuloy-tuloy po ang pagtaas ng benepisyo ni PhilHealth lalo nasa aming dialysis patients dahil habang buhay na po kaming ganito na magda-dialysis po.”
For Norman Gajo, he said his pension is not enough to cover dialysis treatment, so he is grateful for the increase in benefit from PhilHealth.
“It is a very great help for us, lalo na kaming matatagal ng nagda-dialysis. Financially kung tutuusin talaga yung mga pension namin hindi sapat. Very thankful kami na nag-increase kayo ng coverage for us,” he said.
“Speaker Romualdez, thank you very much for your efforts, ‘yung malasakit ninyo sa aming mga pasyente,” he added.
Another dialysis patient, Aldrin Aguilar, the increase in dialysis benefits from the PhilHealth will really help them, especially those like him who have no means of livelihood.
“Maraming maraming salamat kasi mabibigyan ng dagdag para sa aming dialysis galing sa kanila. Maraming maraming salamat sa kanilang gagawing tulong na ‘yan sir. Wala naman kaming mga trabaho na, kaya sana ma -cover na lahat para hindi na kami masayado mamroblema,” Aguilar said.
Earlier, Romualdez said the increase from P2,600 to P4,000 of PhilHealth dialysis benefits “will be a big help to the more than one million Filipinos undergoing dialysis.”
“With the increased assistance, they will no longer have to augment the amount they spend for this procedure, even in private health facilities,” he said.
The adjustment supports the goal of President Marcos and the Universal Health Care Law to provide poor Filipinos with free health care.
He then expressed the hope that PhilHealth would likewise approve the other free health services he and other congressmen have been advocating, like free laboratory test and free mammogram.
