Sen. Risa Hontiveros(Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN)
Hontiveros, in filing Senate Bill No. 2053 or the “Free Dialysis for Senior Citizens Act of 2021,” said senior citizens suffering from kidney diseases that require dialysis should be able to fully reimburse through the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) all the dialysis sessions conducted in accredited hospitals or free-standing dialysis centers.
The senator said passage of the bill into law would be helpful to senior citizens and their families especially amid the widespread unemployment, exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis.
Currently, PhilHealth covers 90 dialysis sessions, but Hontiveros said her bill hopes to cover the complete 144 sessions needed for a complete year of treatment.