DOH control of hospital for seniors sought

DIGOS CITY, Philippines – Custodio Panada, who turned 70 last week, has been in and out of the hospital due to various illnesses.

It’s the price of being elderly, he said, as he admitted that it was financially draining.

“The little farm I have was pawned four times because my income could not catch up with the hospital expenses,” said Panada, a retired farmer.

“How I wish I had PhilHealth (Philippine Health Insurance Corp.),” Panada added.

Panada’s case and those of millions of other senior citizens are now the subjects of a bill pending in Congress seeking free PhilHealth coverage for all, or not just indigent, seniors.

Pastor Benny Abante, a seniors health advocate, said that aside from lobbying Congress for swift action on the bill, senior citizens should lobby President Aquino for an executive order that would transfer the supervision of senior citizens’ hospitals to the Department of Health (DOH).

The little known National Center for Geriatric Health (NCGH), which caters to the health needs of senior citizens, should be under the DOH for better funding and maintenance, said Abante, principal author of the Senior Citizens Expanded Act of 2010.

The former congressman said Malacañang should infuse at least P250 million to NGCH to make it fully operational and functioning as a national hospital.

“Never mind if it was established during the time of another President (Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo). Our elderly could not care less and neither should [President Aquino],” said Abante.

“All it takes is one executive order to have the DOH manage NCGH,” he added.

House Bill No. 4593, which mandates free and full PhilHealth coverage for all seniors, has passed second reading in the House. The measure would require at least P14.5 billion in funding, according to Sen. Ralph Recto, an amount that, he said, could be taken from the National Health Insurance Fund.

“It would be a big relief if [HB 4593 is] realized,” Panada said. Eldie Aguirre, Inquirer Mindanao