Sen. Legarda Seeks PhilHealth Coverage for All Filipinos

MABALACAT CITY: If Senator Loren Legarda has her way, all Filipinos will get PhilHealth coverage by next year.

She has already increased the budget of the Department of Health (DOH) to achieve the target, reported Sun Star, adding that there are about eight million Filipinos still not covered by PhilHealth.

The health of the public deserves to be on top of the priorities of government, Legarda, principal author of the Mandatory Universal Healthcare Coverage Act, reportedly said.  “It is our duty, in serving the public, to extend basic healthcare protection to all our citizens.”

“In the 2017 budget, we will cover all Filipinos under PhilHealth, and for indigent patients, they will not pay for anything in government hospitals under the No Balance Billing (NBB),” she was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Legarda also reportedly expressed support to other priority programs of the DOH. Legarda welcomed the anticipated issuance of an Executive Order banning smoking in closed public areas and designating smoking areas in public open spaces.

Based on the Tobacco Atlas of the World Lung Foundation and American Cancer Society, at least 71,850 deaths in the Philippines every year are attributed to tobacco-related diseases. Moreover, second-hand smoking (SHS) increases the risks of contracting lung cancer by 30 percent and coronary heart disease by 25 percent, reported Sun Star.

The 2011 Global Youth Tobacco Survey further notes that, among 13-15 year old Filipinos, at least two out of five are exposed to second-hand smoking at home, while three out of five are exposed to it outside the home, the report said.

(Source: FilipinoTimes.ae)