Senate approves on third reading bill granting allowances, benefits to COVID-19 health workers

Public and private healthcare workers stand to receive risk allowances and other benefits from the government if Senate Bill 2421 is passed into law.

STAR / Boy Santos, file

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate passed on the third and final reading a bill that provides allowances and other benefits to health workers on the frontline of keeping COVID-19 at bay. 

If passed into law, Senate Bill 2421 will give private and public health workers access to varying allowances based on their risk exposure, financial support if they contracted the virus, regular COVID-19 testing by Philhealth, and full Philhealth coverage for direct healthcare costs.

The bill seeks to retroactively apply from July 1, 2021 onwards, remaining in full force during the state of national public health emergency due to the spread of the highly-infectious virus. 

Full Story: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/02/01/2157836/senate-approves-third-reading-bill-granting-allowances-benefits-covid-19-health-workers