Ill Pinoys: Universal Health Care offers more than a ‘band-aid solution’ to gravely

The Universal Health Care Bill, once passed into law, promises to give Filipinos stricken with

a life-threatening disease a better chance at survival, or at least, decent medical relief, a senator said.

Under the proposed measure, “every Filipino shall be granted immediate eligibility and access to

preventive, promotive, curative, rehabilitative, and palliative health services’’ as they would be covered by PhilHealth, Sen. Juan Edgardo M. Angara said.

“Our healthcare system should not only work on curing and preventing sickness, it should also promote

people’s well-being, especially when they are enduring intense pain and suffering from chronic diseases.

This measure guarantees the right of Filipinos to quality health care throughout their entire life cycle,”

according to Angara who is one of the authors and sponsors of the bill.

Angara cited a 2015 Quality of Death study index that listed the Philippines as one of the worst places to die, next only to Iraq and Bangladesh.

The poor scores of the Philippines, which ranked 78th out of 80 countries, in terms of the quality of end-of-life care available was attributed to:

Palliative care professionals

The severe shortage of specialized palliative care professionals; lack of government-led strategy for the

development and promotion of national palliative care; a limited number of government subsidies or programs

for individuals accessing palliative care services; and, limited public understanding and awareness of palliative care services.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that the following diseases require palliative care at the end-stage of life: cancer, cardiovascular diseases, chronic lung diseases, diabetes, tuberculosis, kidney failure, HIV-AIDS, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, among others.

WHO information demonstrated that in 2012, around 300,000 of the evaluated 515,000 revealed passings in the Philippines expected to non-transmittable maladies, for example, stroke, heart assault, growth, incessant lung infection, and diabetes.

“These ailments force costs that budgetary, as well as enthusiastic, social, and mental, to the patients and their families,” Angara said.

”The Universal Health Care bill stage forward in guaranteeing that each Filipino family given appropriate consideration and help amid the most difficult phases of disease,” he included