MANILA, Aug. 26 (PNA) — In a bid to provide quality health care to Filipino veterans and their families, the Defense and Health Departments on Tuesday signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) revitalizing the Veterans Hospital Program (VHP).
This was done to help veterans and their dependents living in far-flung provinces.
Signing the MOA in behalf of their respective departments were Secretary Voltaire Gazmin for Defense and Secretary Enrique Ona for Health.
This took place at the DND social hall in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
The VHP is expected to benefit about 500,000 Filipino veterans nationwide.
The renewed agreement signed between the two important line agencies of the government seeks to make the implementation of the VHP in all hospitals under the Department of Health nationwide.
The VHP is a program that extends hospitalization and medical care benefits to Filipino veterans and their dependents nationwide in hospitals that are accredited by the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) and the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO).
It provides partial hospital subsidy of Php1,200 per day of hospital confinement net of other applicable discounts up to a maximum of 45 days per patient per year to be reimbursed by PVAO-VMMC to the accredited hospitals.
It also gives partial reimbursement of certain select procedures and additional benefits such as cataract surgery, cardiac procedures such as angiogram, angioplasty, pace-maker placement and heart by-pass; endoaneurysmectomy, and chemotherapeutic agents.
In addition, partial reimbursement may also be given to veterans and dependents that need hearing aid, hernia mesh, orthopedic implants and braces and dentures.
According to PVAO statistics, as of August 2014, there are 36,281 living World War II and Post-War veterans and an estimated 140,000 legal dependents who are entitled to avail of hospitalization and health care benefits from the government.
The VHP is seen as an immediate and temporary solution to the concerns of veterans and their families, especially those who are residing in remote provinces who have no convenient access to the VMMC, the only veterans hospital in the country that is located in Quezon City. It is being implemented in partnership with 70 hospitals under the DOH and 531 government hospitals under the local government units.
At present, select private tertiary hospitals have also been selected to give veterans and their dependents more choices.
In his speech, Gazmin said that Congress has taken cognizance of the need to establish more veterans hospitals for those who reside in remote provinces, with House Bill No. 2225 being deliberated in the House of Representatives, and Senate Bill No. 830 in the Senate, both seeking to establish Veterans Memorial Medical Centers in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
He also appealed for the inclusion of living World War II veterans and surviving spouses as beneficiaries in DOH’s Universal Healthcare Program for them to enjoy PhilHealth coverage as sponsored members.
“There are only 14,013 living World War II veterans at present who die at a rate of 300 per month. We earnestly hope that this request be given utmost priority so that we may realize the ultimate goal that “no veteran should pay for his own medicines,” Gazmin said.
For his part, Ona said they are already exploring the possibility of expanding PhilHealth insurance coverage to include all surviving World War II veterans.
“This is a promise we intend to keep,” he added.
“We cannot overemphasize the invaluable contributions that our veterans have done to our country that enjoys its sovereignty, and to Filipinos who enjoy their freedom… And because many of our veterans are now in the twilight years and with deteriorating health, the Department of Health is here to address and assist in their share of those healthcare needs,” Ona concluded. (PNA)