(Eagle News) — The Senate on Monday, Dec. 10, ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the Universal Health Care bill that seeks to provide affordable healthcare access to all Filipinos.
“The UHC Bill is only one step closer to becoming a law. Once enacted, all Filipinos will be covered by the PhilHealth,” Villanueva said.
Senator JV Ejercito, chair of the Senate health committee and author of the bill, expressed hope President Rodrigo Duterte would sign the measure into law the “soonest possible time.”
It was also President Duterte who had certified as urgent the measure.
Under the measure, all Filipino citizens will automatically be enrolled into the National Health Insurance Program, even without their PhilHealth identification cards.
PhilHealth members are classified as either contributors who are capable of paying premiums, or as indirect contributors, or those who are sponsored by the government such as senior citizens and indigents.
“Sa ilalim ng Universal Health Care, ang bawat Pilipino ay hindi na kailangang mangamba sa tuwing sila o ang miyembro ng pamilya ay magkakasakit dahil aayusin at palalakasin natin ang pagbibigay ng serbisyo lalo na sa mga Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAs),” Ejercito said.
The funds will be sourced from the government’s subsidy to PhilHealth, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, the Philippine Amusement Gaming Corporation, among others.
“Congratulations to my seatmate, health committee chair Sen. JV Ejercito, and to all our co-authors in the Senate who have contributed to the fine-tuning of the bill,” Villanueva added.