Senate tackles bills to expand PhilHealth coverage on TB, senior citizens

Screengrab from philhealth.gov.ph

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate on Tuesday began deliberations on two separate measures, expanding the  coverage of state-run Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) by including the full treatment of Tuberculosis (TB) and mandating compulsory coverage to all senior citizens.

Senate Bills (SB) 711 and 712 were both filed by Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto and deliberated by the Senate committee on health and demography joint with the committee on finance.

Recto said SB 711 mandates PhilHealth to include the treatment of TB regardless if the patient is a member or not, while SB 712 seeks compulsory coverage of the estimated 6.1 million senior citizens under the tutelage of PhilHealth.

Enrolling TB in the PhilHealth’s ‘sickness’ menu, he said, would speed-up the treatment and eradication of the disease nationwide.

“A person afflicted with TB should no longer suffer the social stigma of such sickness but should look forward to a healthier future with PhilHealth playing the role of emancipator,” Recto said in a statement.

The senator noted that TB has now dislodged even the most notorious causes of death in the country by capturing sixth rank, which translates to 75 Filipinos between the ages 15 to 64 dying from TB every day.

In the list of World Health Organization (WHO), he said, the country ranked 9th of the total 22 countries that are considered high risk for TB cases.

“The PhilHealth coverage of TB treatment would expunge the country from the WHO watch list – a list that should cause more worry than the many convoluted versions of ‘Napolist,” Recto said.

The senator also noted that at least P8 billion taxpayers’ money is lost yearly due to sickness and deaths attributed to TB as TB treatment now costs around P8,000 to P10,000.

It was estimated that about P4 billion to P5 billion is needed to ensure a TB-free population, Recto said.

In filing Senate Bill 712, meanwhile, Recto wants the estimated 6.1 million senior citizens of the country to bring home their own PhilHealth cards.

At present, he said, only indigent senior citizens are qualified for PhilHealth coverage.

Recto said the mandatory coverage of all senior citizens would entail a funding requirement of P14.64 billion, which he said,  could be sourced from the agency’s National Health Insurance Fund.

“The mandatory coverage of all senior citizens would be our simple gift for the productive years that they pumped in during their heydays — a fitting send-off to their twilight years,” the senator said.

If the bills would be passed into law, Recto said, both TB patients and senior citizens would be unburdened of their obligation to pay monthly premiums with PhilHealth.

As of December 2013, there were 31.27 million registered members and 45.63 million dependents totaling to 76.90 million Filipinos provided with Philhealth coverage.

Additional 14.7 million families are being targeted to be enrolled and covered with PhilHealth this year.

For this purpose,   Recto said, the government allocated P35.338 billion in the 2014 national budget. The amount was higher by P22.726 billion from the 2013 government subsidy.

He said the PhilHealth’s Reserve Fund amounts to approximately P116 Billion.

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