The law that will grant every Filipino eligibility and access to “preventive, promotive, curative, rehabilitative, and palliative health services”, delivered either as population-based or individual-based health services, has been signed by President Rodrigo Duterte yesterday, Wednesday. The passage of this law, according to one of the authors of the measure Senator JV Ejercito, would expand PhilHealth coverage including free check-ups, diagnostic services and different kinds of laboratory tests.
Under this bill, all Filipino residents can now automatically get access to primary health care services of the country, through the National Health Insurance Program (NHIP), even if the person does not possess Identification Card from PhiliHealth. They can be either as direct contributor, those who can pay premiums, or indirect contributor, meaning citizens who are sponsored by the government such as indigents and senior citizens.
As premiums increase, members who are direct contributors would get more benefits to encourage those who pay higher and those who are paying voluntarily. The rates for the membership would gradually increase by .5% annually, while income ceilings for contributions would increase by Php 10,000 yearly. Payments for local government unit (LGU) hospitals would be set aside in a special fund to improve the health facilities in LGUs.
Under Universal Health Care Bill, dental, mental, medical, and emergency health services will be totally available for every person who possesses birth certificate proving that he or she was born in the Philippines or a legitimate Filipino citizen.
As part of its primary care benefits package, PhilHealth will also include the services such as outpatient care, medicines, and laboratory tests. To do the jobs needed for this program, the government required all the government-funded scholars who graduated in health-related courses to serve in the public sector for at least three years.
As cited earlier by Ejercito, majority of the Filipinos are hesitant to consult a doctor or professionals for their health related problems and only go for diagnosis when their illnesses have worsened because of the lack of support from the government (records from Philippine Statistics Authority / PSA). According to the report, “Filipinos spent around P6,345 for their health needs in 2016, or 8.7 percent higher from P5,840 health expenditure in 2015”.
