Hontiveros seeks expansion of PhilHealth dialysis coverage to 156 sessions

FILE PHOTO hemodialysis machine

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Risa Hontiveros is pushing for the expansion of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation’s (PhilHealth) dialysis coverage to 156 sessions.

Recently, PhilHealth increased the dialysis coverage of each patient from 90 to 144 sessions until the end of the year. Each patient needs 156 sessions per year of treatment.

READ: From 90, PhilHealth expands dialysis sessions to 144 for rest of 2022

While Hontiveros commended the coverage expansion, she wants to make the free sessions permanent.

“Malaking pasasalamat sa PhilHealth sa pagtugon sa panawagan nating ipagpatuloy ang coverage ng 144 dialysis session ngayong taon. Malaking tulong ito sa ating mga kababayan,” she said in a statement on Tuesday.

(A big thanks to PhilHealth for heeding our appeal to cover 144 dialysis sessions this year. This is a big help to our fellow Filipinos.)

“Patuloy nating ipapanawagan na gawin itong permanente at palawigin pa hanggang 156 session kada taon,” she added.

(We will continue to plead to make it permanent and further expand it to 156 sessions per year.)

Hontiveros also prodded to avoid making the matter an “annual back-and-forth exercise” between the state insurer and dialysis patients.

The senator noted that dialysis is still “one of the most emotionally and financially taxing causes of mortality among Filipinos.”

One of Hontiveros’ priority bills in the 19th Congress is the Free Dialysis for Senior Citizens Act of 2022.

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EDV