BY ALEX ALAGON
TO EASE the financial burden on patients requiring medical care, the government is now implementing a zero-balance billing policy in Department of Health-run hospitals.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced this during his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 28.
“Itinuloy na po natin ang zero balance billing. Libre po,” Marcos said in his SONA delivered before a joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
“Ibig sabihin, ang serbisyo sa basic accommodation sa ating mga DOH na ospital wala nang babayaran ang pasyente dahil bayad na ang bill ninyo,” the President said.
The President added that the medical assistance is funded by the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP), Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), and by the allocation to DOH hospitals.
Hospitals under DOH supervision can be found here: sites.google.com/view/doh-hfdb/facilities
This is on top of the financial support from the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).
“Uulitin ko, wala nang kailangan bayaran ang pasyente basta sa DOH hospital dahil bayad na po ang bill ninyo,” Marcos stressed.
Marcos also cited in his SONA the expansion and enhancement of PhilHealth benefits for heart and renal disease.
PhilHealth now covers the costs of open-heart surgery, as well as heart valve repair or replacement.
For a kidney transplant, the coverage limit was increased from PhP600,000 to PhP2.1 million.
PhilHealth also covers post-operative kidney transplant services and medication.
The President added that in terms of severe dengue cases, PhilHealth coverage was increased to PhP47,000, while the limit for cataract operation was adjusted to PhP187,000 from PhP16,000.
PhilHealth also pays for the therapy and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities (PWDs) and their “assistive mobility devices.”
These devices are prescribed and adapted to improve safe and functional mobility towards social participation
He stressed the medical assistance program will be modernized to be more accessible in times of emergency.
“Higit sa lahat, padadaliin pa natin ang proseso ng medical assistance dahil ipapasok na po ito sa ating eGov app,” he added.
