Free dialysis a need amid rise in kidney disease

Sen. Sonny Angara wants the government to provide free dialysis treatment to indigent patients amid rising cases of kidney disease in the country.

Angara saw the need to address the rising number of kidney disease patients after learning from the Philippine Network for Organ Sharing under the Department of Health ( DOH) that 23,000 patients underwent dialysis treatment due to kidney failure in 2013.

The number is a huge jump from the 4,000 cases recorded in 2004.

Citing the DOH report, Angara noted that the figures do not include those suffering from kidney failure — now the country’s seventh leading cause of death — but who are not able to undergo dialysis due to its high cost and inaccessibility especially in the rural areas.

“Patients from the provinces who are suffering from kidney disorder have to travel to urban centers just to get dialysis, which is needed on a regular and sustained basis. Some patients even die without undergoing dialysis because they simply can’t afford it,” Angara said.

The senator has filed Senate Bill No. 2849 or the Dialysis Center Act, which requires all national, regional and provincial government hospitals to establish, operate and maintain a dialysis ward or unit to ensure that dialysis will be available, accessible and affordable especially for those living in the rural areas.

The measure also mandates that dialysis be provided free to indigent patients whose combined annual family income does not exceed P30,000.

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,” he said.

He also welcomed the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth)’s recent expansion of hemodialysis coverage from 45 to 90 sessions per year in a bid to lessen the financial burden of its members due to the rising incidence of kidney diseases in the country.

“I laud this move by PhilHealth in response to the growing clamor from stakeholders to increase the coverage for dialysis. I urge my colleagues to support the passage of this bill to make health services more accessible and affordable to our countrymen,” he said.

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