PhilHealth urged to cover drug user’s rehab

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Vicente Sotto III wants the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to cover some of the cost of rehabilitation of its members who are drug dependent.

He said the serial surrender of thousands of drug users should help lead to drastic change and lasting benefits to the country.

He said based on a 2009 survey, there are 1.7 million drug dependents – but only 2,000 underwent treatment and rehabilitation.

The cost of treatment and rehabilitation discourages families of drug dependents to avail themselves of the same, he said.

Under Sotto’s Senate Bill 8, PhilHealth beneficiaries who are drug dependent and who have submitted themselves to treatment and rehabilitation in an accredited health care provider shall be charged a reasonable and affordable fee.

The measure seeks to amend Republic Act 7875 or the Act instituting a National Health Insurance Program for all Filipinos and establishing the PhilHealth, as amended by RA 9241.

The proposed amendments list drug abuse and dependency treatment as among personal services covered.

The bill also calls for the accreditation of rehabilitation centers so that PhilHealth members can be accorded the proposed benefits.

Sotto believes the problem of illegal drugs and drug abuse cannot be solved by law enforcement alone but should also be addressed with preventive education, prosecution and rehabilitation.

“One of the pervading social ills at present is the rampant drug addiction. Various laws have been passed to prevent and control this menace. What has been overlooked however and has not been properly addressed is the rehabilitation of drug dependents,” he said.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV has urged the government to sequester the so-called Hacienda Binay in Batangas and convert it into a drug treatment and rehabilitation facility.

“There are thousands of self-confessed drug dependents who have surrendered to the authorities, but, aside from monitoring, the government has yet to implement a concrete program to ensure that these drug users will not return to their old ways. We do not have a concrete plan, as well as facilities, to rehabilitate them,” he said in a statement.

Trillanes was referring to a 350-hectare farm allegedly acquired by former vice president Jejomar Binay with ill-gotten wealth.