ANGARA PROPOSES FREE HEALTH INSURANCE FOR 14M FILIPINO CHILDREN OF POOR FAMILIES

Senator Edgardo J. Angara today proposed a health insurance program for over 14 million Filipino children of low-income families through the establishment of a Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

"Poor families, especially during times of financial difficulties, would usually forego health care and put their resources into food. But the state cannot afford to neglect the health of our country's children, if we hope to raise a strong and productive future generation," said Angara who authored the law on PhilHealth in 1995.

"We need to make our children not only dependents of health insurance but beneficiaries themselves. Through this program, the government can significantly increase its investments in health thereby rescuing our young population from a health crisis," he added.

According to United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the deepening global economic crisis could significantly raise infant mortality and malnutrition rates which provide no reason for governments to cut back on social spending.

Statistics from UNICEF shows that the present economic crisis could lead to a 5-10% increase in anemia among pregnant women and a 10% rise in low birth weights among babies in severely affected countries. Infant mortality is expected to increase between 3% and 10% and the malnutrition rate among children could rise by 10%.

Angara noted that this could aggravate the country's situation as reported by the World Bank wherein the country's infant and mortality rates for babies below 5 years old are 2.3 to 2.7 times higher for households in the country's poorest groups

To date, the estimated number of children in the country is pegged at 33,000,000 and about 14,000,000 are considered poor.

CHIP, Angara said, would complement the existing National Health Insurance Program (NHIP) or PhilHealth by providing children with a full range of health services like regular checkups, immunizations, prescription drugs, laboratory tests, X-rays, hospital and clinic visits, durable medical equipments hospital visits, even dental and eye care.

Under the present PhilHealth system, all senior citizens, including indigents, are provided with financial access to health services. With the proposed CHIP, the country's health services would now cover children, one of the "most uninsured members of our population."

Angara, the current Senate Finance Committee chair, said that additional investments on our nation's health are needed as the country is still faced with major challenges in the health sector.

UNICEF also suggested that social protection programs be made an integral part of government stimulus packages aimed at reviving economies. These programs would also mean jobs for teachers, healthcare workers and social workers.

Earlier, health experts raised concerns on shrinking national budgets due to the financial crisis could force governments to cut back on social spending in areas such as health care, nutrition and education, potentially affecting a huge number of children.

"In our country, there is still continuing disparity in our citizens' living standards as highlighted by inequitable access to health care. Poor families would usually forego health care, or borrow money at usurious rates, sell the few assets they have, or pull children out of school, just to afford health services they need for catastrophic illnesses. Faced with an economic crisis, we must sound the alarm bell and make necessary adjustments to save our country from a catastrophic health crisis,' added Angara.