House approves bill on mandatory COVID-19 tests for vulnerable citizens

Vulnerable members of the society (VMS) will undergo mandatory baseline Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing for COVID-19 under a bill approved on third and final reading by the House of Representatives on Thursday night.

A total of 240 congressmen voted in favor of House Bill (HB) No. 6865 to be known as the “Crushing COVID19 Act.” Only one voted against it.

At least 80 House members registered as co-authors of the measure that was filed by Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin, former secretary of health.

The bill will put in motion the “Test, Test, Test” program of the government.

HB 6865 provides that PCR or Baseline PCR Testing be established as a protocol for COVID-19 testing of VMS.

Covered by the mandatory baseline PCR Testing are patients or healthcare workers with severe or critical symptoms, mild symptoms and those who demonstrated no symptoms but with relevant history of travel or contact.

Also considered as VMS are the following:

1. Non-health frontliners responding to COVID 19 cases that include police, military and fire agency personnel; barangay health workers and officials; those connected in jail and prison management; swabbing and testing center workers and social workers, among others.

2. Persons with co-morbidities and other health risks such as diabetes, heart disease, pulmonary diseases, cancer, obesity, pregnancy, renal failure, old age and other immunocompromised persons who are returning to work.

3. Persons entering the Philippine territory from abroad.

4. Workers who are holders of quarantine passes who do most of the errands for their families during the quarantine period.

5. Patients required by their physicians to submit a PCR test result prior to a medical procedure or treatment.

Foreign nationals entering the country will undergo PCR tests but will have to pay its cost.

Under the bill the following will be placed in the priority list of PCR tests: Healthcare workers, sales personnel in public markets, groceries and supermarkets, food handlers, factory and construction workers, security guards, drivers of public utility vehicles, banks and transfer fund facility employees; house helpers, caregivers, laundry shop workers, embalmers, pregnant women and wellness and salon workers.

Those connected with the mass media, law enforcement agencies barangay health units and family members whose household has a dweller who went abroad from December 2019 until the present time are also included in the priority.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) will coordinate with the Department of Health, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Trade and Industry and Bureau of Immigration in ensuring the availability of the testing centers.

On the other hand, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) is tasked to cover the full cost of testing and services of medical personnel needed.

HB 6865 prohibits PhilHealth from covering costs that are over the prevailing market cost of the PCR tests.

In pushing for the passage of the measure, Garin cited various researches and studies indicating that 40 to 50 percent of COVID-19 cases are asymptomatic.

According to her the determination of the state of health of the vulnerable sector is one effective way of stopping the spread of the deadly coronavirus.