Senate OKs mandatory PhilHealth coverage for PWDs on third reading

The Senate approved on third and final reading Monday a bill seeking to provide automatic enrollment and coverage for persons with disability into the National Health Insurance Program or PhilHealth.

Under Senate Bill No.  1391, the premium contributions of all PWDs will be paid by the national government, while the premium contributions of those employed in the formal economy will be shared by the employer and the national government.

The premium payments will be sourced from sin tax collection.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, author and sponsor of the measure, said she is proud of the Senate for recognizing the importance of the social protection mechanism that seeks to provide health insurance coverage to one of the most vulnerable segments of the population – the PWDs.

“SB 1391 is a long overdue measure that aims to expand the benefits currently given to PWDS, by including Philhealth  enrolment or coverage.  When this is enacted into law, Philhealth will now be able to automatically cover PWDs  for them to have better access to health care,” she said.

“As we strive for Universal Health Care, this measure will help ensure that no one will be left behind,” she added.

In explaining his affirmative vote, Senator Ralph Recto said that not all accessibility ramps are made of concrete as some are in the form of policies like the bill, which allows persons with disability to access health care.

“By passing this measure, we are in effect ordering the building of an accessibility ramp to PhilHealth, which PWDs can use for free,” he said.

He said the proposed measure is not an act of charity, because to frame it as such is to condescend to a sector that deserves no such patronizing.

“Rather, let us view it as a fulfillment of our duty to two million of our fellow citizens in order to help them triumph over the vicissitudes of life; and for those who are able, to fully realize their full potential as productive members of society,” he said.

“This is a Senate whose role has always been to speak in behalf of those who can’t, to listen to the cries of those who can’t hear, to realize the vision of those who can’t see, and to march for those who can’t walk. In passing this bill today, and in passing more pro-PWD bills in the future, the Senate is just being true to its role,” he added. —JST, GMA News