COVID-19 pandemic a 'litmus test' for Universal Health Care Law—Hontiveros

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Thursday said the COVID-19 pandemic should all the more prompt the government to implement the Universal Health Care (UHC) law as she rejected the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation's (PhilHealth) proposal for postponement due to budget constraints.

"The COVID-19 pandemic is first and foremost a health crisis. I am shocked by and disagree with PhilHealth's recommendation of a ‘general delay’ in the implementation of the Universal Healthcare Law and to postpone the expansion of Primary Care Benefits," Hontiveros said in a message.

"Ang kasalukuyang pandemic ang pangunahing dahilan at nagsisilbing ‘litmus test’ para sa pagpapalakas ng implementasyon ng UHC Law," she added.

On Tuesday, PhilHealth president Ricardo Morales recommended a general delay on the implementation of the UHC as well as the postponement of the primary care benefit expansion after he pointed out a projected fund deficit until 2024.

He said the COVID-19 crisis led to lower collection of PhilHealth contributions and that a P138-billion subsidy for 2021 is needed to cover indigent members, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and UHC expansion, among others.

Hontiveros urged the government to allocate more subsidies for the implementation of the UHC law "through current tax collection, budget allocations, and if needed, borrowings."

"Prioritizing the roll out of primary health care benefit lessens the need for hospitalization and will be more efficient in the long run because it will save the government funds that would have been spent on costlier treatments," she said.

Several other senators also opposed the recommendation to defer the universal health care roll-out.

The Palace likewise rejected PhilHealth's proposal.

The UHC law, which automatically enrolls all Filipino citizens to the National Health Insurance Program, was enacted in February 2019. Its implementing rules and regulations were signed in October of the same year. -NB, GMA News