In a move that will benefit hundreds of Filipinos, the Senate has asked for health insurance coverage to be the main priority concerning Governmental issues, in the midst of rising health expenses.

Sen. Manuel Roxas II, proposed that the government should pay for mandatory entitlement for every Filipino to healthcare benefits provided under the Philippine Health Insurance (Philhealth).

“The health of every Filipino is important. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that our citizens are healthy,” said Roxas.

He added: “Every Filipino citizen shall be entitled to mandatory healthcare coverage by their immediate and automatic inclusion to Philippine Health Insurance coverage and membership as mandated by Republic Act 7875.”

In similar plans, Sen. Edgardo Angara, proposed a mandatory health insurance scheme for low income families and the 14 million uninsured children via the production of a Children’s Health Insurance Programme (CHIP).

Social health insurance accounts for only 11% of the public, with 26.9% of Filipino families not being able to afford such insurance as they fall below the national poverty line.

In an attempt to reach out to those who suffer, Roxas authored the Cheaper Medicines Act, which has made medicines more accessible to these people as it has been made cheaper.

Angara said: “The state simply cannot afford to neglect the health of our country’s children if we hope to raise a strong and productive future generation.”