SPEAKER Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said today President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s aspiration to provide free hospitalization to all Filipinos has inched closer to reality after the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) agreed to shoulder doctors’ fee of hospitalized patients.
This developed following a meeting Wednesday afternoon of Speaker Romualdez with PSCO General Manager Melquiades Robles and Philippine Medical Association (PMA) President Dr. Hector Santos Jr., facilitated by Deputy Majority Leader for Communications and ACT-CIS Partylist Rep. Erwin Tulfo .
House Senior Deputy Speaker and Pampanga Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr., House Committee on Appropriations Chairman and Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Zaldy Co, House Majority Leader and Zamboanga City Rep. Manuel Jose “Mannix” M. Dalipe, and ACT-CIS Edvic Yap also joined the meeting.
“Nagpapasalamat tayo dito sa ating GM ng PCSO at sinagot niya po ang hinaing ng ating health care professionals lalo na dito sa isyu ng professional fees,” said Speaker Romualdez, leader of the 300-plus strong House of Representatives.
Robles told Speaker Romualdez that by the end of October this year the modalities for the implementation of the coverage of professional fees by the PCSO could be implemented.
“All medical practitioners will (then) be covered by the government under the auspices of the PCSO so that health care will be totally free,” Romualdez said.
“Libre ang health care para sa lahat ng Pilipino, yun po ang ating nais, at yun po ang sinabi ng ating Presidente Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.”
Earlier, Robles noted that various forms of medical assistance are already available to indigent Filipino patients, including from agencies like Philhealth and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) or programs like the Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP).
Despite these, Robles noted that most of the time indigent patients still have to shoulder the professional fees of their doctors. He said the expected change in the PCSO rules would address this problem and soon allow Filipinos to enjoy free health care.
Expressing his gratitude for the welcome development, Romualdez vowed to continue working for a better health care for all Filipinos.
“We will also continue to look at other ways and means to make health care more accessible and universally acceptable and free to all the Filipino people,” he said.
