A House panel has swiftly approved several measures that will provide more benefits to public and private health workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among those passed in the House Committee on Health are measures seeking benefits, including special risk allowance, active duty hazard pay, and insurance to medical frontliners.

Committee chair and Quezon Rep. Angelina “Helen” Tan proposed that the benefits that will be provided to health workers should not only be monetary.

The lady solon recommended providing comprehensive healthcare benefits to medical personnel who were also infected with COVID-19.

In her bill, non-monetary benefits should also be considered, like psychiatric and psychological assistance especially those who survived COVID-19.

Members of the Makabayan bloc filed House Bill 9640 seeking to grant special risk allowance and active hazard duty pay to all health workers, in the private and public sector, in hospitals and other health facilities during a state of public health emergency.

The militant solons stressed that the current allowance and hazard pay of medical workers are insufficient and limited.

The measure stated that the national government should ensure the provisions of P15,000 special risk allowances and P5,000 active hazard duty pay for all health workers on a monthly basis and should not be pro-rated for every month that they are providing service amid the state of public health emergency.

For her part, House Bill 10198 author Parañaque Rep. Joy Myra Tambunting is seeking provision of life insurance, accommodation, transportation, and meals aside from the SRAs and active hazard duty pay to health workers.

On the other hand, BHW Party-list Rep. Angelica Natasha Co’s House Bill 10285 aims to ensure the continuous granting of COVID-19 benefits to public and private health — including the barangay health workers regardless of their employment status.

Quezon City Rep. Alfred Vargas’ House Bill 10331, meanwhile, is proposing to have increased allowances and benefits to health workers.

The various measures on the “COVID-19 Benefits for Health Workers Act of 2021” mandate that these benefits should remain available so long as the presidential declaration of national public health emergency is in place.

Health workers who contract mild or moderate COVID-19 will be given P15,000 each; P100,000 for severe or critical cases; and in case of death, the amount of P1 million to the heirs.

On top of these, additional benefits that will cover psychiatric treatment for affected health workers will also be included as proposed by Rep. Tan.

The panel likewise revisited the PhilHealth Circulars and commitments on House Resolution No. 1966, which seeks to inquire into the confusion brought about by the issuances of PhilHealth on the availment of COVID-19 related benefit packages in light of the renewed calls on the part of some hospitals to disengage from PhilHealth over its continued failure to pay reimbursement claims.