ALARMED over the growing number of cases of end-stage kidney disease in the country, three lawmakers have sought the approval of a measure that will require government hospitals to set up wards for dialysis and provide this treatment for free to indigent patients.

Benguet Rep. Eric Yap and ACT-CIS Partylist Rep. Edvic Yap and Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte noted that dialysis treatment for Chronic Kidney Disease Stage 5 (CKD 5) or end-stage kidney disease remains costly for most Filipinos, especially for poor patients, which was why they are pressing Congress to approve their proposed measure as outlined under House Bill (HB) 7841.

Dialysis facilities also remain limited in public hospitals, resulting in long lines for poor CKD patients seeking treatment for this dreaded disease.

They said that even with the upgrade on the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth) coverage for hemodialysis from a maximum of 90 to 144 sessions, this is still not enough to cover the actual number of dialysis treatments needed by many CKD patients, given the severity and chronic nature of their disease.

Under current Philhealth guidelines, the 91st to 144th additional sessions shall be exclusively used for outpatient hemodialysis. According to reports, Philhealth plans to increase its coverage for hemodialysis to 156 sessions starting this year.

The bill filed by three lawmakers aims to institutionalize the grant of free dialysis sessions to indigent patients and make the treatment accessible to them in government hospitals.

“The cost of medical treatment for kidney disease remains exorbitant—beyond the reach of ordinary patients. CKD 5 can be treated with kidney transplantation or renal dialysis. However, while kidney transplant is a definitive treatment, the low levels of organ donations, lack of infrastructure, and its high cost makes dialysis as the most viable option for renal patients,” the bill’s authors said as the nation marks National Kidney Month this June.

A dialysis session costs around P2,000 to P5,000 per session, which means a patient needing this treatment thrice a week would have to shell out P6,000 to P15,000 a week, or P24,000 to P60,000 per month to be able to survive.

Citing the latest available data from the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI). Duterte and his fellow authors noted that CKD 5 has been identified as the 7th leading cause of death in the country, with 120 Filipinos per million population being afflicted with the disease each year.

The latest estimates place around 2.3 million Filipinos with CKD, Duterte said.

Duterte’s home city of Davao continues to rank third in the country with the most number of kidney diseases since 2017, according to reports quoting officials of the Philippine Society of Nephrology and the Davao-based Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC).

The American Journal of Kidney Diseases published a report in July 2020 stating that “the Philippines in particular has experienced a large rise in the prevalence of dialysis with an approximate increase of 400% over the past 10 years.”

Under HB 7841, all national, regional and provincial hospitals are required to establish, operate and maintain a dialysis ward or unit within two years after the measure becomes a law. These medical facilities are required to provide dialysis treatment to indigent patients free of charge.

Any hospital chief, administrator, or officer-in-charge who fails to comply with the provisions of the measure will be fined P50,000 to P100,000.