Senate set to OK free health insurance bill

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate is set to approve a landmark measure that will have all Filipinos covered by free health insurance, resulting in household savings in terms of medical expenses and better facilities in state hospitals, Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito said yesterday.

Ejercito, who chairs the commitee on health and demography, said the Senate is expected to approve the universal health care (UHC) bill anytime this month after President Duterte appealed to Congress to pass the measure.

He said that under the bill, each Filipino is automatically covered in the National Health Insurance Program as a direct or indirect contributor.

The bill also expanded the service coverage and strengthened the preventive and promotive aspects of health service.

“Our primary objective is to guarantee equal access to quality and affordable health services for each Filipino, along with ensuring that such will not be a financial burden,” the senator said.

The committee conducted hearings and consultations throughout the country, including Cebu, Davao and Albay provinces “to learn from our people of their true needs,” according to Ejercito.

Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, he said the health expenditure of each Filipino rose by 8.7 percent in 2016. This means each Filipino spent more than P6,345 for his or her health that year compared with P5,840 he or she spent in 2015.

Ejercito, however, said that since the data was per capita, it does not really capture the burden of individual Filipinos, especially on families hit with really heavy medical expenditures because of members suffering from serious illnesses.

Of the total health expenditures, 54.2 percent of P342 billion were shouldered by families while only 34.2 percent or P216 billion were paid for by the government in 2016.

With the universal health care bill, each Filipino can save some P7,000 or more annually in expenses, depending on one’s ailment or condition, Ejercito said.

He added that the bill will also address the lack of hospital beds in state medical facilities. During the course of committee hearings, the Department of Health (DOH) reported the government lacks over 42,000 hospitals to achieve its goal of one bed to a population of 800 people (1:800) ratio.

The measure, according to Ejercito, also harmonizes and coordinates the duties and responsibilities of the DOH, Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), local government units and other concerned agencies to make sure all Filipinos are covered with free health care.

The landmark measure also creates the national workforce for health to improve the delivery of services publicly owned or led medical facilities as well as to grant health workers higher compensation, Ejercito said.

Meanwhile, medical doctors have warned that patients’ lives could be endangered if PhilHealth implements a circular that bars physicians from prescribing medicines not included in the National Formulary.

A senior member of the Philippine Heart Association said PhilHealth’s Circular 2018-0014 will reduce the options of doctors to prescribe the most effective treatment.

The doctor said there are many effective medications not listed in the National Formulary, adding that PhilHealth must be cutting costs in issuing the circular since medicines in the formulary are generally cheaper.

E-cigarette to derail government health care

Meanwhile, the government will spend more for health services if electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) will not be prohibited, a group of cancer survivors said yesterday.

“As more people may get sick with e-cigarette use, the cost burden for universal health care will naturally increase also,” New Vois Association of the Philippines president Emer Rojas said in a statement.

Rojas said the promotion of e-cigarettes is a bane not only to public health, but also to the government’s UHC program.

Rojas said diseases that e-cigarettes may bring to users may just become an additional burden to the UHC since there will be more people getting sick with diseases similar to those derived from smoking.

“As it is now, there is still a need to establish a sustainable source of funds for the UHC to be fully implemented. What more if additional health hazards will be introduced legally in the market,” Rojas noted.

Rojas issued the statement in reaction to the filing of House Resolution 1885, which urges the DOH to promote harm reduction measures, particularly the use of e-cigarettes as an alternative for smokers.

The DOH has rejected the resolution, insisting that claims about the reduced harm of e-cigarettes are “unsubstantiated and remain unproven.”

Rojas said e-cigarettes will also undermine the Duterte administration’s initiative imposing a nationwide smoking ban in public places.

The nationwide smoking ban, according to Rojas, does not cover e-cigarettes and vapes despite having similar hazardous effects with that of traditional cigarettes.– With Mayen Jaymalin