{"id":253934,"date":"2020-05-05T05:34:52","date_gmt":"2020-05-05T09:34:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=253934"},"modified":"2020-05-05T05:36:54","modified_gmt":"2020-05-05T09:36:54","slug":"hontiveros-calls-on-philhealth-doh-to-conduct-irr-review-of-uhc-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/05\/05\/hontiveros-calls-on-philhealth-doh-to-conduct-irr-review-of-uhc-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Hontiveros calls on PhilHealth, DOH to conduct IRR review of UHC Law"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Hontiveros urged PhilHealth and DOH to conduct consultations with OFWs who are some of the most vulnerable sectors affected by the global pandemic. \u00a0 (File Photo:<\/a> Senator Risa Hontiveros\/Facebook<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After Malacanang\u2019s directive making premium payments for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) voluntary, Senator Risa Hontiveros urged the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and the Department of Health (DOH) to also review its implementing rules and regulations or IRR for the Universal Healthcare Law (Republic Act No. 11223).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPhilHealth and DOH should immediately reassess and amend the IRR in close consultation with OFWs,\u201d Hontiveros said in a statement on Tuesday, citing economic hardships due to the coronavirus pandemic. \u201cKailangan maging sensitibo ang pag-implement ng batas sa hinaing ng mga OFWs ngayong may COVID-19 pandemic,\u201d she added. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On Nov. 23, 2019, PhilHealth Circular No. 2019-0009 published that in 2020, the rate for Direct Contributors, in which OFWs are included, would increase the premium rate from 2.75% of monthly salaries to 3% under the UHCL. Concerns regarding the said measure\u2019s guidelines were highlighted over the weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n

Consultation with OFWs<\/i><\/u><\/span><\/u><\/i><\/p>\n

Hontiveros urged PhilHealth and DOH to conduct consultations with OFWs who are some of the most vulnerable sectors affected by the global pandemic. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAng dagdag na 3% ay napakalaking pasan, lalo pa at may kinakaharap tayong krisis ngayon. Marami sa ating mga OFWs at kanilang pamilya ay kabilang sa mahihirap at bulnerableng sektor bago pa man ang krisis sa COVID-19,\u201d she urged.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDapat magkaroon ng sapat na konsultasyon sa kanila. Dapat may kinatawan sa bawat uri ng overseas work kasi hindi naman pare-pareho ang sitwasyon nila. At dapat isama sila sa pag-dedesisyon ng panukalang ito,\u201d she also recommended.<\/span><\/p>\n

UHC Oversight Committee<\/i><\/u><\/span><\/u><\/i><\/p>\n

The Senator also called for the convening of the oversight committee on the Universal Healthcare Law.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe should be grateful for the concerns aired by our OFWs,\u201d said the Senator. She added that Congress has an oversight function over the implementation of the law.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis should not stop us from pursuing better implementation of this landmark law. These are birth pains that need to be addressed to benefit everybody,\u201dshe also said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, the senator also called for a review of the current benefits package and delivery provided by PhilHealth especially to OFWs. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018We cannot abandon universal healthcare\u2019<\/u><\/i><\/span><\/i><\/u><\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot abandon universal healthcare,\u201d Hontiveros declared. \u201cIt is an essential piece of legislation that, at the end of the day, if implemented properly, will provide healthcare to all Filipinos,\u201d she added.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cKasama sa batas ang pagsasaayos ng ating sistemang pangkalusugan, mga dagdag-benepisyo sa lahat ng Pilipino, at masiguradong mapangalagaan ang kalusugan ng bawat isa, mahirap man o mayaman,\u201d Hontiveros explained. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The senator said that the principle behind the UHCL is one that could help millions of Filipinos in the long term, adding that its proper implementation is paramount. \u201cBut its implementation should be reviewed properly for the benefit of all concerned,\u201d she concluded.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After Malacanang\u2019s directive making premium payments for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) voluntary, Senator Risa Hontiveros urged the Philippine Health Insurance …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":238182,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-253934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-office-of-senator-risa-hontiveros"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253934"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253934\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":253937,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253934\/revisions\/253937"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/238182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}