On his birthday, President Marcos announced that zero-billing will be implemented in all tertiary public hospitals in the county.
"This is my treat to you," Marcos said in his speech in Nueva Ecija as he announced that the government will be shouldering the medical bills of all patients in Level 3 public hospitals in the country on Friday, Sept. 13.
Marcos said his office has set aside P300 million to fund the medical expenses of public hospital patients for the day.
"Ngayon din po, sa araw na ito, naglaan po tayo ng lagpas sa tatlong daang milyong piso mula sa aking tanggapan upang gawing libre ang serbisyo ng mga pampublikong tertiary hospitals sa bansa kagaya ng Philippine General Hospital sa Maynila, sa Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center sa lungsod ng Cebu, ang Amai Pakpak Medical Center sa Marawi at iba pang mga government hospital (Now, on this day, we allocated more than P300 million from my office to provide free services to tertiary public hospitals in the country like the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City, and Amai Pakpak Medical Center in Marawi and other government hospitals)," Marcos said in his speech during the distribution of Certificates of Condonation with Release of Mortgage (COCRoM) to agrarian reform beneficiaries in Nueva Ecija.
He also made the same announcement in his first engagement of the day at the unveiling of the "Agri-Puhunan at Pantawid" Program in the province.
"Sa mga pasyente pong ito, sagot na po namin ang inyong mga gastusin sa araw na ito. Wala na po kayong kailangang alalahanin sa usapin ng mga babayaran (For all these patients, we are shouldering your bills for today. You do not need to worry about your bills)," the President said.
According to the Department of Health (DOH), in order to avail of the services, patients will be interviewed by the Medical Social Services (MSS) of the hospital.
After MSS assessment and evaluation, medical assistance will be provided through the DOH Medical Assistance for Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) program.
Medical services that will be free to patients on Sept. 13 include hospital bill; drugs and medicines; laboratory and diagnostic procedures; dental services; implants; therapy and rehabilitative services; chemotherapy; and dialysis.