Health in the spotlight

Health received a very special mention in the fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. at the joint opening session of the 20th Congress last July 28.

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It was symbolic of sorts when PBBM declared that from his SONA day there will be "zero balance billing" for patients confined in all 87 government-run hospitals all over the country.

Giving flesh to the "zero balance billing" promise of PBBM, the state-run Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) launched four days later its newest project, aptly dubbed Yaman ng Kalusugan Program para Malayo sa Sakit (YAKAP). This acronym is actually a Filipino word which means "embrace." As PhilHealth explains it, YAKAP reflects the Marcos administration's commitment to embrace all Filipinos in this government's inclusive and accessible health care project.

Thus, it became symbolic in the sense that the "zero balance billing" was kind of a roundabout way by which PBBM reversed the transfer of PhilHealth funds back to the National Treasury that was questioned in several petitions against it. While pending its resolution, the Supreme Court (SC) issued a temporary restraining order that stopped the transfer of the remaining P29.9 billion of alleged "excess funds" of PhilHealth.

Underscoring the need for accessible health care for every Filipino, the YAKAP of PhilHealth introduced a broader range of free primary care services, including free access to 75 essential medicines, laboratory tests and cancer screenings. By doing this, YAKAP intends to enhance the existing program to bring health care services closer, especially to impoverished communities and reduce the need as much as possible for costly hospital confinement.

It's about time. For decades, our health system has languished in a state of underinvestment and chronic neglect.