The House of Representatives has recently approved a bill seeking to provide free dialysis treatment for indigent patients on a final reading.
House Bill 9156 or the "Comprehensive Renal Replacement Therapy Act" obtained a majority of 177 votes from lawmakers.
The bill intends to provide free dialysis treatment to indigent patients, a comprehensive renal replacement therapy (RRT) for patients with end stage renal disease, and expand the PhilHealth benefit package.
The PhilHealth benefit package includes coverage for kidney transplant replacement therapy for both living and deceased donors. The package shall also cover the cost of laboratory expenses for both the recipient and donor, hospitalization for the transplant operation and cost of organ retrieval. Likewise, the benefit package covers the medication and post-discharge laboratories for the recipient for a month and the donor for the span of one year.
The bill states that all qualified indigent patients shall be covered by a "No Balance Billing Policy" (NBB) while increasing the PhilHealth Z Benefit package rates for peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis after kidney transplant procedures.
The bill mandates all government hospitals from regional, provincial or national including stand-alone dialysis facilities, to have a dialysis service area compliant with the licensing of the Department of Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).
Furthermore, the bill ordered the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) to cover for the expenses of the remaining sessions needed for both peritoneal and hemodialysis patients after they have used up all their benefit package from PhilHealth.
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