A lawmaker has filed a measure granting automatic Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) coverage for all women about to give birth and their newborn children to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health.
Rep. Alfredo D. Vargas III of the Fifth District of Quezon City said House Bill 6373 seeks to provide automatic health-insurance coverage to all women about to give birth who are not yet enrolled under any existing categories of the PhilHealth and their newborn children.
“As part of the country’s Millennium Development Goals [MDGs], the Philippines aims to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health,” Vargas said.
He cited the Philippines Fifth Progress Report on the MDG where the Philippines has a high probability of achieving the target of reducing the mortality rate of children.
Vargas said that in 2011, the Philippines recorded a child mortality rate of 30 out of 1,000 live births, which is not far from the 2015 target of 26.7. Infant-mortality rate also decreased from 57 per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 22 per 1,000 live births in 2011. The 2015 target is 19, he added.
“However, it is feared that the Philippines will not meet its MDG target on maternal health as the maternal-mortality ratio increased from 209 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 221 deaths in 2011, a far cry from the 2015 target of 52.“ The State must exhaust all efforts to ensure that the country will meet the targets set forth by the United Nations,” he said.
Under the measure, all Filipino women about to give birth and their newborn children who are not currently covered under any existing category of PhilHealth need not pay the monthly contributions to be entitled to the Program’s benefits.