DOH budget to increase 13.6% next year–Aquino
President Benigno Simeon Aquino III said the Department of Health’s budget will be increased in next year’s General Appropriation Act to ensure that more Filipinos will be provided greater access to healthcare.
He said the 13.6 percent increase in the DoH’s 2011 budget would be used to increase the coverage of Philhealth “to five million families in three years or less.”
Aquino made the announcement in his speech keynoting the joint opening of the International Federation of Head and Neck Oncologic Societies (IFHNOS) and the Philippine Societies of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (PSO-HNS) conventions at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Pasig City on Sunday.
“In the area of healthcare, there is much more that needs to be done, but here is what we have done so far: We have increased the budget of the Department of Health by 13.6 percent next year. Much of that money will go to public health centers,” the President said.
Aquino said universal health care “is created particularly for our poor countrymen. We aim to protect them not only from the undesirable health effects but also from the adverse financial implications of diseases, illnesses and emergencies.”
“We aim to do this by improving the coverage and benefits of PhilHealth, our national health insurance agency,” he stressed.
A couple of weeks back, the President noted that the government, through the DoH conducted the National PhilHealth Registration Day, and enrolled more than 192,000 poor families. We will not stop here. In the coming weeks, enrollment of more indigent families will continue as we have proposed P3.5 billion in the DOH budget for this purpose. Our aim is to cover about five million Filipino families in three years or less,” he added.
The President emphasized that while the government is committed to increasing the number of people Philhealth can accommodate, it is also incumbent upon itself to improve the benefits that the national health insurance agency gives to its members.
“We are not only increasing coverage, we are also increasing their benefits. Head and neck injuries and surgery, including treatment, are covered by Philhealth insurance. If the patients become aware of their entitlements, benefits and their responsibilities of being a Philhealth member, we will make Philhealth work better for its members especially for our poor countrymen,” the President said.
“This will not only save thousands of families from the impoverishing of disease and illness, it will save thousands of lives,” he said.
The President also announced that government healthcare facilities will be upgraded to ensure that government will respond better to the health needs of our countrymen.
“Furthermore, we will upgrade the state of government facilities all over the country. They have long suffered from neglect and misplaced priorities. We will improve our hospitals, rural health units and health centers by providing them functional equipment and competent health workers based on their needs,” the President said.
He said this will enable his administration to “better respond to the health needs of our countrymen and we will do away with the statistic that says 40 percent of our population never get to see a health professional.”*
