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Monday, February 12, 2007
2007 budget contains proviso barring use of health cards to campaign for votes (10:10 a.m.)
MANILA -- When 2007 national budget is enacted into law, all Filipino indigents will be entitled to mandatory health coverage under the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth).
This, as a special provision has been inserted to ensure that the Philhealth cards will not be exploited anew for campaign purposes in the May elections, said Senator Franklin Drilon, chairman of the Senate finance committee.
In order to avoid a repeat of allegations that the distribution of Philhealth cards were being used for political campaign purposes, Drilon explained that a special provision in the proposed General Appropriations Act of 2007 was put in place that states that new enrollees for the National Health Insurance Program will be allowed only in July, when the May mid-term elections are over.
Drilon said P3.5 billion has been placed in the proposed P1.126 trillion national budget this year as payment for the National Government's counterpart in premium contributions of indigents enrolled in the Philhealth program. (CPB) |
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