Duterte signs law mandating PhilHealth coverage for all PWDs

By Arjay L. Balinbin, Reporter
PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte has signed into law a measure that requires the government to automatically enroll all persons with disabilities (PWDs) into the National Health Insurance Program.
Republic Act No. 11228, which Mr. Duterte signed on Feb. 22, provides for mandatory PhilHealth coverage for all PWDs. This is an amendment to R.A. No. 7277 or the “Magna Carta for Persons with Disability.”
The new law is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 1391 and House Bill No. 8014. Both bills were passed on Dec. 10 last year.
The law states that premium contributions for all PWDs will be paid by the national government, “provided that the premium contributions of PWD members in the formal economy will be shared equally by their employers and the government.”
The funds needed to implement this law will be “sourced from the National Health Insurance Fund of PhilHealth earmarked from the proceeds of R.A. No. 10351, otherwise known as ‘An Act Restructuring the Excise Tax on Tobacco Products.’”
The law also directs PhilHealth to develop exclusive packages for PWDs that will address their specific health and development needs.
A periodic monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of this law will be carried out by the Department of Health (DoH) in coordination with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DPWH), the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE), the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA), the local government units (LGUs), and other relevant government agencies.
The said agencies are also tasked to promulgate the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) within three months upon the effectivity of this law.
The new law takes effect after 15 days from its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
In a statement on Feb. 10, Senator Risa N. Hontiveros, who shepherded the passage of the bill in the Senate, was quoted as saying: “PWDs are one of the most vulnerable segments of the population. It is doubly difficult when you have a disability and you become sick.”
She added that the approval of the bill “will provide much-needed aid to sustain PWDs’ medical needs, including treatments and medicines which they are compelled to take and undergo because of their disabilities and sickness.”
Mr. Duterte also signed last month the Universal Health Care Act which requires “all Filipinos to be guaranteed equitable access to quality and affordable health goods and services and to be protected against financial risk.”