A Bulacan lawmaker has filed a bill seeking Philippine Health Insurance Corp. coverage of drug rehabilitation.
“We have to have a more practical program to support the war against drug addiction,” Rep. Linabelle Ruth Villarica, author of House Bill 1642, stressed.
HB 1642 is entitled “An Act providing for affordable drug rehabilitation treatment for. (PHIC) beneficiaries, further amending Republic Act No. 7875 as amended.”
The measure states that “the State must encourage more drug dependents to undergo treatment and rehabilitation at low-cost drug rehabilitation centers.”
Villarica cited a 2009 survey which showed that only 2,000 of the 1.7-million drug dependents underwent treatment and rehabilitation because expensive rehabilitation costs discouraged families of drug dependents from having them treated.
“My proposal seeks to address this concern by mandating PhilHealth to cover its beneficiaries who are drug dependents who need treatment and rehabilitation at an accredited health care provider at an affordable cost,” Villarica said.
Her initiative is in accordance with Republic Act 7875, or An Act Instituting a National Health Insurance Program for all Filipinos and Establishing the Philippine Health Insurance corporation as amended by RA 9241, which included drug abuse and dependency treatment among the personal services covered.
HB 1642 defines “drug dependent” as “a person exhibiting a cluster of physiological behavior and cognitive phenomena or variable intensity, in which the use of psychoactive drug takes on a high priority thereby involving, among others, a strong desire or a sense of compulsion to take the substance and the difficulties in controlling substance-taking behavior in terms of its onset, termination, or levels of use.”
Likewise, the bill proposes to insert in Section 10 (Benefit Package) of the present statute the following provisions:
“(E) Rehabilitation treatment of drug dependents
(1) Room and Board
(2) Services of health care professionals
(3) Prescription drugs and biologicals, subject to the limitations stated in Section 17 of this Act.
These services and packages shall be reviewed annually in keeping with its protection objectives and financial sustainability.”
The PhilHealth shall issue the necessary implementing rules and regulations in consultation with the Dangerous Drugs Board and relevant sectors for the effective implementation of the proposed law.
HB 1642 was referred by the plenary to the committee on dangerous drugs for appropriate action.