“KAILANGAN alagaan natin ang mga matatanda na nag-aruga sa atin sa panahon ng kanilang kahinaan.”

This was said by Senator Risa Hontiveros, who is set to refile the “Free Dialysis for Senior Citizens Act” in the 19th Congress.

The senator began pushing this priority legislation during her first term, the last three years of which were made more complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The measure calls for the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to continue providing free treatment for senior citizens who are undergoing dialysis.

“Ramdam pa rin natin ang epekto ng pandemiya. Ngayon ay may mga panibagong pasanin pa ang ating ekomomiya dahil sa pagtaas ng presyo ng gasolina, kaya kailangan nating patuloy na alalayan sila,” said Hontiveros.

The senator explained that senior citizens are perhaps the “most vulnerable” among those with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).

Aging often comes with conditions that compromise kidney function, such as heart diseases, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

Each patient needs a total of 156 dialysis sessions for a complete year of treatment. Without the PhilHealth subsidy, they would be paying around P12,000 weekly for dialysis sessions.

With most senior citizens dependent on their meager pensions and no other income source, they need “all the help” they can get.

Hontiveros disclosed, “Since then, we’ve been calling on PhilHealth to continue the free dialysis service. Every year, senior citizens would keep asking us if the free dialysis sessions would continue.

Kaya sa tingin ko ay dapat nang gawing batas ito para mabigyan ng kapanatagan ang mga lolo at lola nating umaasa rito. This isn’t just any privilege. It’s literally their lifeline. Dapat automatic na yung pagiging libre ng kanilang dialysis sessions.”

To recall, in November 2020, Hontiveros helped push PhilHealth into increasing the number of free dialysis sessions covered from 90 to 144.

In 2021, Hontiveros filed Senate Bill No. 2053 or the “Free Dialysis for Senior Citizens Act of 2021” to ensure that seniors would keep getting 144 dialysis sessions for free.

This was a landmark development, especially since PhilHealth heeded the plea amid the economic devastation wrought by the pandemic.

The senator is now also urging the Department of Health (DOH) to focus on disease prevention awareness by intensifying its campaign for health promotion, including the early detection of possible renal problems in senior citizens and even in children.

Hontiveros asserted: “Mas mabuti kung makapag-focus din tayo sa prevention aspect. Ideally, dapat maiwasan natin ang paglala ng mga sakit na mangangailangan ng regular treatment gaya ng dialysis.”  By Camille P. Balagtas