House OKs wider PhilHealth coverage for dialysis treatment

(Updated 6:27 p.m.) The House of Representatives has approved the bill mandating PhilHealth to provide a coverage of up to P225,000 annually for dialysis treatment.
 
At present, the law allows each patient to avail 45 free sessions of dialysis treatment.
 
Under House Bill 5956, members of the National Health Insurance Program may avail themselves of up to 90 sessions of dialysis treatments, all of which will be covered by PhilHealth.
 
Both private and public hospitals will be mandated to provide this wider coverage.
 
As a requirement to operate a hemodialysis center or unit, the bill requires private and public hospitals, dialysis centers and other health facilities to report incidence and prevalence of renal diseases to the Philippine Renal Disease Registry of the Department of Health (DOH).

The DOH shall penalize hospitals, dialysis centers and other health facilities that violate the monitoring standards and reportorial requirement of the proposed act.

The PhilHealth and the Health Facilities and Services Regulatory Bureau of the DOH shall monitor strict compliance of private and public hospitals, dialysis centers and other health facilities with the safe delivery and quality standards on dialysis services.

HB 5956 is primarily authored by Reps. Francisco Calalay, Jr. of Quezon City and Leopoldo Bataoil of Pangasinan. —Xianne Arcangel and Jessica Bartolome/RSJ/KBK, GMA News