More Cebuano indigents are expected to benefit from the national government’s medical assistance program as five provincial government-run hospitals are set to implement the program.
The Cebu Provincial Board yesterday approved a resolution authorizing Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III and concerned chiefs of hospital to enter into a memorandum of agreement with the regional office of the Department of Health (DOH-7) to implement the program.
Among the hospitals are: the Bantayan District Hospital; Cebu Provincial Hospital in Danao City; Daanbantayan District Hospital; Ricardo L. Maningo Memorial Hospital in Sta. Fe, Camotes Island; and Cebu Provincial Hospital in Bogo City.
PB Member Peter John Calderon, in his resolution, said that the MOA will “ensure smooth and orderly implementation of medical assistance to intended recipients.”
But the date of the signing of the MOA is yet to be set.
There are four provincial hospitals and 12 district hospitals in Cebu.
Calderon said that some hospitals in northern Cebu have implemented the program in 2014.
The General Appropriations Act of 2014 allocated P3.193 billion to complement the existing Medical Health Care Assistance Program of the DOH.
The fund is intended to grant assistance to indigent or poor patients.
According to the guidelines set by the DOH, the chief of hospital is authorized to approve a maximum amount of P100,000 per patient.
Part of the current administration’s six-star agenda is the prioritization of children, women and mothers, and the elderly in the delivery of health services.