CHWs demand higher health budget to address dengue problem
Posted: 13 Sept 2011
Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Enrique T. Ona and President Noynoy Aquino are like dengue mosquitoes – they are vectors of anti-poor health policies that make people sick.Community Health Workers (CHWs) from Parañaque, Pasig, Tondo, Mandaluyong, and Quezon City trooped once again to DOH today to demand for a higher health budget for dengue patients in public hospitals.
Dengue cases continued to increase to 63,741 cases as of September 3 while the number of fatalities reached 373. Metro Manila still ranked first in terms of incidence at 14,081 followed by Central Luzon (11,427), CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) (9,414), Ilocos (8,811), at Cagayan Valley (3,942).
Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Enrique T. Ona
and President Noynoy Aquino are like dengue mosquitoes
– they are vectors of anti-poor health policies that make
people sick.
and President Noynoy Aquino are like dengue mosquitoes
– they are vectors of anti-poor health policies that make
people sick.
Aside from dengue, patients suffer a “double-whammy” due to out-of-pocket expenses. Even charity ward patients are forced to spend at least P5,000 for complete blood count (CBC), oral rehydration solution (ORS), dextrose solution, needles for dextrose, and lancet or needle for blood extraction. The amount excludes fees for blood transfusion. Each bag of blood amounts to at least P1,500 at the Philippine National Red Cross.
Although DOH and Pnoy boasts its “No Balance Billing” under PhilHealth for the poorest 5.2 million individuals, the problem of expensive hospital fees continue to become a burden for dengue patients. Even with a subsidy of P16,000 per patient afflicted with dengue, out-of-pocket expenditures are still a burden.
Public hospitals are ill-equipped. Many of the necessary medical facilities and equipment are either lacking or have broken down. In-hospital pharmacies are poorly stocked and do not supply the necessary reagents. Hence, “patients’ relatives resort to private laboratory facilities and pharmacies in or outside the hospital,” the CHWs said.
In a recent budget hearing, Bayan Muna Representative Teddy Casiño found out that PhilHealth covers a virtually negligible amount on a patient’s hospital bill. At the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) for example, PhilHealth only accounts for 14% of the total bill of PCMC patients for the year 2010. Majority of the expenses are borne by the patients, with 27% being covered by promissory notes.
The CHWs argued that the number of poor people is far more than 5.2 million. Instead of a “members-only” government health insurance scheme and anti-poor programs such as the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP), services in public hospitals should be made free of charge and public health facilities beefed-up to better serve the public.
As an immediate measure, the CHWs called on the government to release P2 billion special budget for dengue patients in public hospitals and an additional P5 billion for dengue prevention campaign. They vowed to continue their protest actions and encourage hundreds of other CHWs, community members, health professionals, and health workers to march with them to Malacañang on September 29 to demand an increase on health budget.##