Tulfo seeks affordable health care for teachers

MANILA, Philippines —  Sen. Raffy Tulfo has filed a measure seeking to institutionalize accessible and affordable hospital services for public school teachers and their dependents.

In Senate Bill 1585, Tulfo cited a 2023 study published by Acta Medica Philippina, which showed that Filipino teachers experience a high prevalence of stress-related disorders, hypertension and musculoskeletal problems, compounded by insufficient access to preventive health care.

Tulfo noted that the World Health Organization has emphasized that educators, particularly those in under-resourced settings, face heightened risk of occupational burnout and chronic fatigue when health care support systems are inadequate.

“Despite these challenges, health and hospitalization benefits for public school teachers remain minimal and fragmented,” he said.

The lack of structured hospital benefits has placed teachers at a disadvantage compared with other public servants who enjoy agency medical privileges, Tulfo said.

Under the bill, all state hospitals are mandated to provide preventive, promotive, diagnostic, curative and rehabilitative health care; grant at least a 10-percent discount on consultations and hospitalization expenses of teachers and establish fast-lane facilities for educators.