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By Prince Golez, Manila Reporter
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MANILA – Sen. Loren Legarda said the proposed national budget for 2017 will ensure Philhealth coverage to all Filipinos.
An additional P3 billion was allocated to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to improve the delivery of quality healthcare services in the country, Legarda said.
According to the Department of Health, about 8 million Filipinos are not yet covered by the social health insurance.
“It is our duty, in serving the public, to extend basic healthcare protection to all our people. That is why we pushed for the augmentation of PhilHealth’s budget so that in 2017 we achieve universal healthcare coverage,” the chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Health said.
Legarda said the goal of universal healthcare coverage is ensure that any Filipino can be made a member of PhilHealth upon availment of healthcare service in a public hospital.
Under the No Balance Billing of the Amended National health Insurance Act, the senator said that indigent patients will not have to pay for anything in government hospitals.
About P96 billion of the 2017 budget will be allocated for the construction of more health facilities and drug rehabilitation centers, she added. Of the amount, P800 million will fund the “Doctors to the Barrio” program, which aims to deploy competent and dedicated physicians to serve towns that do not have health experts.
“The health of our people deserves to be on top of the priorities of government. What is crucial now is to make these healthcare benefits known by the poorest households who are the intended beneficiaries,” Legarda said./PN
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