Concerns raised on bills giving additional benefits to COVID-19 medical frontliners

The Philippine Hospital Association (PHA) on Wednesday raised concerns over the bills seeking to provide hazard pay, special risk allowance and other benefits to COVID-19 medical frontliners, noting that they may create more harm than good.

During the virtual meeting of the Health and COVID-19 Response Cluster of the House Defeat COVID-19 Committee, PHA president Dr. Jaime Almora said that while they appreciate the "noble" purpose of the proposed measures, there are provisions in these bills that "require great amounts of caution."

The subcommittee was deliberating on nine bills seeking to provide hazard pay, special protection, and other benefits to medical frontliners during public health emergencies, as well as seven resolutions expressing the gratitude of the House to COVID-19 health workers.

One of these bills is House Bill 6955 by Iloilo Representative Janette Garin which seeks to protect and advance the welfare of medical frontliners in the country by providing them additional benefits as well as yearly mental health leaves.

"The granting of hazard pay, special risk allowance, and financial rewards appear to be full of benevolence and concerns for the welfare of the concerned public health workers," Almora said.

"However, budgetary constraints and capacities of the private hospitals and even government institutions may present difficulties and impossibilities to the attainment of the noble objectives of the bills," he added.

Almora argued that the government should assume the added financial responsibilities and obligations in providing benefits to frontliners as stated in the measures. 

Private hospitals, he said, will continue doing its part "but not to the extent of compromising its viability that shall eventually be detrimental to the communities they serve."

Almora pointed out that almost all hospitals in the country suffered revenue losses due to the decrease in-patient and out-patient census, as well as the increase in expenses for COVID-19 prevention measures.

"Mandating them to increase expenditure for their health workers by way of giving hazard pay and risk allowances at this time may cause collapse of hospitals resulting in a far greater problem, not only to the health workers but to patients and the general population as a whole," he said.

At the same time, Almora noted that providing hazard pay and risk allowances to health workers does not solve the problem but instead creates a new one.

"During these times, money is better spent by increasing capability to eliminate or decrease the hazard or risk to the workers, unless there is overwhelming surplus in finances," he said.

"It will totally remove sources of livelihood for its workers and deny access to healthcare if they will have to spend for a non-solution like hazard pay and risk allowances," he added.

Further, Almora said that if Congress will pass a measure granting hazard pay and risk allowances to frontliners, they will also have to legislate additional income.

"It cannot legislate good action without considering the consequential adversary action. It cannot legislate creation of good feeling for the few if the consequence is economic suffering for the many," he said.

In the end, Almora said PHA supports only one of the nine bills, House Bill 6847 which provides for enhanced medical coverage and benefits to COVID-19 medical and health service frontliners, as it gives "a direct solution to a problem and is unlikely to create an adverse and undesirable reaction."

"We don't support the other bills because of the presence of provisions that do not directly solve the problem at hand and have the potential of creating additional problems for the hospitals," he said.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health supported the resolution expressing gratitude to COVID-19 frontliners, saying that "the invaluable and heroic contributions of these health workers must be recognized." —KG, GMA News