Manoy Wilbert “Wise” Lee called on the Department of Health (DOH) and Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to pay for the unpaid bills of indigent and financially incapacitated patients in private and public hospitals which often result in delayed treatment and denial of care.
In filing House Resolution No. 2104, Lee stressed the importance of the effective implementation of Republic Act No. 11223 or the “Universal Health Care Act” which mandates the said agencies to enforce comprehensive health services for all Filipinos.
“The UHC Act, signed into law in 2019, guarantees that all Filipinos will have access to comprehensive health services, including outpatient services and specialty care. Several years have passed since this was enacted but Filipinos, especially the indigents, remain burdened with lack of hospital care,” Lee lamented.
The Bicolano lawmaker underscored that DOH and PhilHealth need to address the tedious administrative and documentation requirement for claims which remains to be a major obstacle for hospitals and patients, especially for indigent individuals who may not have the necessary means, knowledge, or support to navigate complex processes promptly.
“Simplify, streamline, and liberalize the requirements for hospitals and patients. Pagaanin natin ang pasanin ng mga pasyente at kanilang pamilya na nag-aalala na nga sa sakit ay problemado pa sa gastusin sa gamot at pagpapagamot,” Lee said.
“Tulungan natin sila, imbes na pahirapan!” he added.
A staunch health advocate, Lee is the driving force to increase PhilHealth benefits by 30% which was implemented last February 14. PhilHealth’s benefit package for hemodialysis was also expanded from P2,600 to P6,350 per session and from 90 sessions per year to 156 sessions annually, as well as for the breast cancer treatment coverage which increased from P100,000 to P1.4 million.
Currently, Lee persistently pushes for other commitments he sealed from DOH and PhilHealth in expanding health services such as free eye checkup, free eyeglasses and another 50% increase in PhilHealth benefits, free diagnostic tests such as Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan, Computed Tomography (CT) scan and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as part of outpatient services and at least 80% coverage for cancer treatments and heart procedures.
“Tanggalin kung ano ang mga balakid sa pagpapabilis ng pagbabayad ng DOH at PhilHealth sa mga ospital para mapabilis ang pagkakaloob ng mga benepisyo. Habang di nababayaran ang mga ospital, milyon-milyong nating mga kababayan ang maaaring napagkakaitan ng mga serbisyong pangkalusugan,” Lee stressed.
“Ang gobyerno, hindi dapat pabigat sa taumbayan. Wala na dapat mga Pilipino ang magmamakaawa sa mga ahensya o nasa katungkulan kapag may kailangan, yung halos lumuhod pa para matulungan sa pagbili ng gamot at pagpapagamot.”
“Ang gamot at pagpapagamot, dapat libre na, dapat sagot na ng gobyerno. Ang ipinaglalaban natin: Gamot Mo, Sagot Ko!” he added.
