President Aquino Signs Law For Wider Health Cover For Filipinos

[Jollygoodfellow]

More good news for the people  :thumbsup:

 

 

Philippines President Aquino signs law for wider health cover for Filipinos

 

 

Manila: A new law expanding the government’s health cover has been signed by President Benigno Aquino to provide greater access to health care services.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said Aquino signed the Republic Act on June 19, an amendment of the National Health Insurance Act of 1995. The move was aimed at ensuring that all Filipinos, especially disadvantaged people and those with disabilities, were provided with health care insurance coverage.

Under the new law, the state is mandated to provide comprehensive health care services to all Filipinos through a socialised health insurance programme.

“The new law provides that all citizens of the Philippines shall be covered by the National Health Insurance Programme [NHIP]. It shall ensure sustainability of coverage and continuous enhancement of the quality of services to people,” Valte said in a statement.

 

Under this revised cover, the health care needs of the underprivileged, sick and elderly, persons with disabilities, women and children will be given attention while free health care services will be provided to the neediest.

“The programme shall be compulsory in all provinces, cities and municipalities nationwide, notwithstanding the existence of local government unit-based health insurance programmes,” Valte said.

Prior to this new law, access to health insurance coverage has been limited to government employees, as well as private sector employees who pay compulsory or voluntary contributions as members of the state-run PhilHealth.

“Under the law, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, Department of Health, local government units, and other agencies including non-governmental organisations and other national government agencies shall ensure that members in localities shall have access to quality and cost-effective health care services,” she said.

Under the PhilHealth set up, members were provided health insurance coverage but had to pay for a portion of the cost for the treatment.

The expanded law came after Aquino’s appointment of lawyer Alexander Padilla as head of the PhilHealth.

Padilla was a former government peace negotiator in negotiations with the National Democratic Front-Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army.

Valte, in a press briefing last Wednesday, said Aquino had named Padilla as a member of the board of directors of PhilHealth and approved his nomination as the next president and chief executive officer of the agency.

 

http://gulfnews.com/news/world/philippines/philippines-president-aquino-signs-law-for-wider-health-cover-for-filipinos-1.1200428

[Mike S]

Great news especially sense it will be partly funded by the sin-tax proceeds ..... lets hope it will do some good for those that really need it ..... :AddEmoticons04230: :thumbs-up-smile:

:cheersty:

Edited June 23, 2013 by Mike S

[SubicSteve]

Great news especially sense it will be partly funded by the sin-tax proceeds ..... lets hope it will do some good for those that really need it ..... :AddEmoticons04230: :thumbs-up-smile:

:cheersty:

 

 

HA!!!!!!!

 

 

SIN TAX TAKE ‘NIL’

THE government was not able to collect “any single centavo” from the implementation of the Sin Tax law during the first quarter of 2013 due to smuggling of cheaper cigarettes.

Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. made this claim Thursday when asked about the progress of the collection of higher taxes from cigarettes and alcoholic drinks. Marcos and then Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile — who come from tobacco-producing provinces — vehemently opposed the passage of the Sin Tax Reform bill that imposes almost 1,000 percent tax increase on cigarette products.

Enrile believes that the sin tax measure would lead to smuggling and other security problems. The Sin Tax Reform Act of 2012 or Republic Act 10351 was signed into law last December 20 by President Benigno Aquino and took effect on January 1, 2013.

“Can you please note that the Sin Tax (law) has been passed (pero) wala silang nakolekta kahit isang sentimo because precisely of the things I’ve brought up during the debates on the floor, na lumaganap ang smuggling, bumaba ang (collection) — all of the things that I’ve said,” Marcos said in a forum.

Marcos earlier expressed hope that he was “wrong” in his assumption that it will be impossible for the government to collect the projected Php33.96 billion incremental revenue during the first year of the implementation of the sin tax reform bill.

Voting 10-9, the Senate last Dec.11 ratified the bicameral conference committee report restructuring excise taxes on alcohol and tobacco products wherein the panel agreed to raise Php33.96 billion incremental revenue during the first year of the implementation of the “sin tax” reform bill.

“Sa first quarter ng 2013 wala silang (Bureau of Internal Revenue officials) nakolekta because exactly of the things we warned them about. But they did not listen. And that is why the collections as I pointed out, both as a quantitative solution and also as a qualitative argument, clearly has shown to be flawed,” Marcos said.

“Talaga namang walang magiging benepisyo sa tobacco industry (and sin tax law), but even sa collection ng gobyerno. Sinasabi nila yung bilyon-bilyon na makokolekta nila—wala silang nakolekta. And the effect of that, we are certainly going to be taking this up, one year after the sin tax (law) was enacted, I’m going to stand up (on the Senate floor) and tell you exactly what happened — kung makita natin kung effective o kung hindi,” he added.

 

 

http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php/news/headlines/52772-sin-tax-take-nil

[Mike S]

I thought it was to be based on cigarettes sold not manufactured ..... if they couldn't collect one single centavos for the quarter something else is wrong because if they are smuggling in that much product there would be no need to grow it here and produce cigarettes .... but with the reports coming from those two guys it wouldn't surprise me one little bit .... not one single centavos for 3 months .... yup ... and I got some property in the Spratlys I want to sell ...... news reporting at it's finest ....  :hystery:  :hystery: 

:cheersty: