Baguio kidney patients repeat plea for free dialysis treatment

BAGUIO CITY: difficulties in maintaining lifetime dialysis treatment, kidney patients seeking treatment in the city reiterated their appeal for the city government to provide free dialysis treatment.

Baguio Correspondents and Broadcasters Club (BCBC) past president Ramon Dacawi led around 70 dialysis patients and their guardians in airing their experiences and appeal for a free dialysis assistance from the government during a media forum at here, on Thursday.

Dacawi, retired chief information Baguio, and a columnist of various papers, has been assisting dialysis patients through his columns and write–ups. As a dialysis patient himself for two years now, the more he feels the sympathy and the burden on how the medical procedure keeps them alive.

He explained that the present dialysis benefit package of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) is not enough especially for those undergoing a threetimes a week procedure and those They have to go to different gov friends, and family members to them to continue their treatment.

The present Philhealth Dialysis Package provides P2,600 assistance per procedure and a maximum of 90 sessions per calendar year.

Dacawi disclosed that they started the free dialysis campaign a year ago when he was the BCBC president, to help those having with their dialysis sessions.

- alysis Section chief Virginia Mangati, in the same forum, also affirmed that kidney problem - cern. For the hospital alone, there are four to six new cases a day.

417 dialysis patients with 253 Baguio residents. The oldest patient was 98 years old and the youngest was a 13-year old girl, Mangati said.

For the city government’s response, Councilor Peter Fianza reported that they have supported the free dialysis campaign through a local ordinance.

bill at the House of Representatives pushing for free dialysis treatment.

- formed that in partnership with several other congressmen, they filed last year House Bill 5503 pushing for free dialysis as well kidney transplant. The bill was passed at the committee level and set to be submitted to the House Committee and Appropriation before it will be sent to the Plenary discussion. Hopefully, it will be passed soon, he said.

- tience from the kidney patients until the free dialysis law is enacted as ready to provide them assistance on their health concerns.