THE House of Representatives approved on third and final reading House Bill 6803, also known as the Comprehensive Renal Replacement Therapy Act.

The said bill is the consolidation of various measures, including House Bill 391, one of the priority measures authored by Negros Occidental Fifth District Representative Ma. Lourdes T. Arroyo that aims to make dialysis treatment accessible and available to End Stage Renal Dialysis (ESRD) patients from rural areas.

Among the key provisions of the bill are identifying chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients as persons with disability (PWD) and are now entitled the same privilege as persons with disability in accordance with Republic Act 7277 or the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons.

Also included in the measure is providing free dialysis treatment for indigent patients in all national, regional, and provincial government hospitals, expanding the PhilHealth benefit package for kidney transplantation or renal replacement from both living and deceased donors, increasing the PhilHealth Z benefit package rates for peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis after kidney transplant procedures, maintaining a dialysis ward/unit in all government hospitals, and strengthening advocacy training for kidney related disease and establishment of counseling clinics for the benefit of End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients and their families.

The approval of HB 6803 strengthens Universal Health Care law in providing every Filipino with comprehensive health care service, particularly to the treatment of renal disease which is one of the top ten causes of death among Filipinos.

"The passing of this bill provides significant assistance to indigent patients, particularly those from rural areas who no longer need to travel to urban cities to avail of dialysis treatment," Arroyo said.