ln#

A) ili
Tan to refile free
F; dialysis treatment bill
E& THE measure seeking to members.
provide free dia lysis treat- Section 28 of the Re-
r-t ment for indigent patients public Act 1123, or the
6: would be refiled by Que- "U niversa I Health Care
FPn
lYl zon Fourth District Rep. Act," mandates Ph ilHealth,
*
6).* Angelina Tan, chairman the Deparment of Health
6 of the House Committee (DoH), and life and non-life
Hry o
= on Health, after if failed to private health insurance
* = hurdle the 17th Congress providers to develop stan-
amid the alleged fraudu- dard policies and plans
3; 6 lent activities and anoma- that complement the pro-
x lies hounding the Philip- gram's benefit system.
as
3*
pine Health lnsurance Healthcare providers and
Corp. (PhilHealth). facilities are a lso required
Despite get-ting a final to make readily accessiblq
nod from the lower cham- to the public and submit
ber, the Senate failed to to DoH and PhilHealth all
pass its counterpart ver- pertinent and u p-to-date
sion of House Bill (HB) information regarding
9156 before the Congress' prices of health services
session adjourned early being offered.
this month. Ph ilHealth officia ls, led
Tan said they would have by Acting President and
to refile the measure when Chief Executive Officer Roy
the 18th Congress formally Ferrer, tendered their res-
opens. ignation on Tuesday after '
"The House was able to President Rodrigo Duterte
approve the Comprehen- ordered tlhe health firm to
sive Rena I Replaeement have a "clean slate absent
Therapy Act before we any taint of irregularity in
adjourned, but there is no rendering services."
need to worry because I PhiiHealth earlier filed
will refile this in the 18th 28 adminiitrative cases
Congress since l'm a princi- aga inst WellMed Dialysis
pal author of the measure," and Laboratory Center in
Tan said in Filipino in a Quezon City for allegedly
radio interview on Sunday. issuing claims on behalf of
HB 91 56, or the "Com- their dead patients as far
prehensive Renal Replace- back as 2016.
ment Thera py (RRT) Act," PhilHealth told lhe Ma-
was passed on third and nila fimesthat as of this
fihal reading on May 28. year, it had failed to resolve
' Under the bill, a com- 4404 cases that were alleg-
prehensive RRT or a kid- edly connected to fraudulent
ney transplant would be schemes and other violations
.provided for patients with committed by some dialysis
end stage renal disease centers, doctors and other
in national; regional and partner healthcare providers.
government hospitals. Over the weekend,
Quajified indigent PhilHealth noted that even
patie nts would be cov- after the resignation of the
ered by the "No Balance firm's top officials, it was
Billing Policy." still "business as usual" and
' PhilHealth package rates that it continues serving
" It4ga - Ap'l for RRT would also be in-
creased for the institutions'
'its beneficiaries.
GLEE JALEA