P27.4 billion extra MAIFIP fund to benefit 5 million families

MANILA, Philippines — An estimated five million families will benefit from the additional P27.41-billion funding allocated for the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients or MAIFIP program, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

The current beneficiaries of the program stand at five million families, Health Secretary Edwin Mercado said yesterday.

“Based on our estimate, with the additional funds given, that would also be the number of families and patients we’ll be able to assist,” Mercado said during an interview with the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon program.

The DOH chief said that bulk or 70 percent of this P27.41 billion, which is equivalent to P19.145 billion, will be used by centers for health development (CHDs), particularly by local government units (LGUs) and private hospitals under these CHDs.

“This amount can be used in emergency as well as catastrophic cases wherein medical expenses are already too high and PhilHealth coverage is not enough. Though we still recommend for the patient to use PhilHealth first and in our order of billing, you can get a discount depending if one falls under the senior citizen or person with disability category,” explained Mercado.

Meanwhile, the remaining amount of the MAIFIP budget was divided among DOH hospitals in Manila (P4.35 billion), GOCC specialty hospitals including the Lung Center, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Philippine Children’s Medical Center and Philippine Heart Center (P2.9 billion), UP-Philippine General Hospital (P950 million), and drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation center (P52 million).

Over 70 medical and health care groups have called for the abolition of MAIFIP, calling it a medical pork barrel. The groups said the amount for the politicized health ayuda should instead be given to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. for expanded PhilHealth services.