• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, principal author of the Universal Health Care (UHC) bill passed into law in 2019, is hopeful that the zero-balance billing in government hospitals will be enforced.
This was after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced during his fourth State of the Nation Address on July 28 that the government will implement the zero-balance billing to ease the financial burden of patients who require medical care.
The medical assistance is funded by the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., and by the allocation to Department of Health hospitals, the President said.
The assistance is in addition to the financial support from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).
Marcos also announced that PhilHealth now covers the costs of open-heart surgery as well as heart valve repair or replacement.
For kidney transplant, the coverage limit was increased to P2.1 million from P600,000.
Moreover, PhilHealth now covers services and medication for post-operative kidney transplant.
For severe dengue cases, PhilHealth coverage was increased to P47,000 while the limit for cataract operation was adjusted to P187,000 from P16,000, the President said.
PhilHealth also pays for the therapy and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities and their “assistive mobility devices” defined as any device prescribed and adapted to improve safe and functional mobility towards social participation. | GB
