THE chairman of the House committee on Metro Manila development has called the attention of the Department of Health (DoH) to inform the public that Medical Assistance to Indigent Patients (MAIP) is now available for use in private hospitals.

“Kailangan malaman ng ating mga mamamayan na nandito ang ating pamahalaan para kumalinga at tumulong sa kanila sa pamamagitan ng mga programa tulad ng MAIP,” said Manila Rep. Manuel Luis T. Lopez during the Wednesday hearing of the committee, which he chairs.

The agenda for the committee meeting was the update by the DoH-Metro Manila Center for Health Development (MMCHD) on the MAIP Program for Metro Manila And making it available for use in private hospitals.

In attendance were DoH-MMCHD Regional Director Dr. Gloria Balboa and Assistant Regional Director Dr. Maria Paz Corales.

“Saksi ako sa laki ng tulong nitong programa na ito lalo na sa ating kapos-palad na mga kababayan sa amin sa Tundo”, Lopez emphasized.

“Especially now that this program is being made available to private hospitals in certain cases.”

“With Congress significantly raising the program’s allocation from 10.5 Billion Pesos in 2020 to 17 Billion Pesos for FY 2021, MAIP stands to do a lot of good for a populace reeling from unemployment, rising prices, and the effects of the pandemic,” Lopez pointed out.

“It is important that we have this program also available to private hospitals because there are times when it is necessary: for highly complicated cases that require specialist physicians and equipment only available in some private hospitals and in cases for example, you get into a vehicular accident and where establishing the patient is time essential, it becomes imperative that you go to the nearest hospital,” Lopez said.

“What is crucial and important is we ensure that this program is free from abuse. Safeguards must be put in place to ensure the integrity of the program,” Lopez concluded.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Ryan Ponce Pacpaco