AMID rising cases of kidney disease in the country, Senator Juan Edgardo Angara urged his colleagues on Friday to pass a bill mandating free dialysis treatment to indigent patients.

“Patients from the provinces, who are suffering from kidney disorder, have to travel all the way to urban cities just to avail themselves of dialysis treatment, which is needed on a regular and sustained basis. Some patients even die without a chance to undergo dialysis because they simply could not afford it,” Angara said.

Under Senate Bill 2849 or the proposed Dialysis Center Act, all national, regional and provincial government hospitals are mandated to establish, operate and maintain a dialysis ward unit to ensure that dialysis treatment will be available, accessible and cost-effective, especially those living in the rural area.

The proposed measure also requires that dialysis treatment be provided free of charge to indigent patients, whose combined annual family income does not exceed P30,000.

Citing data from the Philippine Network for Organ Sharing under the Department of Health (DOH), Angara said roughly 23,000 patients underwent dialysis treatment due to kidney failure in 2013, a huge leap from 4,000 cases in 2014.

The DOH stressed the figure does not include those suffering from kidney failure – now the country’s seventh leading cause of death – but who are not able to undergo dialysis treatment due to its high cost and inaccessibility, especially in the rural areas.

“In line with the government’s efforts to reform the health sector and provide Filipinos with comprehensive health services, local government units must be tapped to make healthcare services more affordable and accessible,” the senator said.

Angara also lauded the Philippine Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) for expanding the hemodialysis coverage from 45 to 90 session per year to lessen the financial burden of its members due to the rising incidence of kidney diseases in the country. (Sunnex)

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