Hontiveros revives bill seeking free dialysis for senior citizens

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday revived a proposed bill seeking to provide free dialysis sessions for all senior citizens.

In filing Senate Bill (SB) 144 or the “Free Dialysis for Senior Citizens Act of 2022”, Hontiveros underscored the expensive cost of undergoing kidney-related treatments in the country such as hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.

She also emphasized how the COVID-19 pandemic “magnified” the physical and financial vulnerabilities of the senior citizens who are considered at “high risk” for the dreaded coronavirus and mostly rely on their pensions.

Presently, the lawmaker said the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) only covers 90 out of the 144 dialysis sessions patients need for a year of treatment.

“With a case rate of P2,500 per session of dialysis, we cannot expect that our senior citizens needing life-saving treatment will be capable of paying the remaining 54 sessions amounting to P135,000,” she said in her explanatory note.

Under SB 144, the state-run insurer shall reimburse all dialysis treatments of senior citizens availed at accredited hospitals or free-standing dialysis centers 30 days prior to the date of the claimed session.

The funds for the implementation of the measure shall be charged against the appropriations of PhilHealth, the Department of Health and the subsequent General Appropriations Act and their respective funds.

The budget for the continued implementation, meanwhile, will be included in the budget of the concerned departments in their annual General Appropriations.

Hontiveros filed a similar bill in the 18th Congress under SB 2053. The legislation, however, remains pending at the committee level. -- BAP, GMA News