PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. yesterday made sure that the zero-hospital billing policy is implemented in government hospitals in Ilocos Norte during his visit to the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMH & MC) in Batac City.
The President, during the visit, interacted with health personnel and patients at the hospital’s charity wards, emergency room, and neonatal and intensive care units.
Marcos also talked with some patients and staff at the oncology, internal medicine, and family medicine wards to check on their situation and determine if they have availed of the various government services, including zero hospital billing.
He also distributed 2,076 meals – sourced from the Office of the President — to patients, guardians, and hospital staff, with additional meals set aside for newly admitted patients and volunteers.
The provincial government of Ilocos Norte also provided 1,800 food packs, while the office of House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos distributed 750 sacks of rice to patients and their families.
Government station Radyo Pilipinas said that among the patients that the President talked to at the ward was Leonrado Tolentino and his wife, Lucrecia. Leonardo has been staying at the ward for about a month due to Osmotic demyelination syndrome, which prevents him from walking.
Lucrecia said she is very thankful to Marcos for the zero-hospital billing program and relayed their need for the daily medicine her husband will be taking once he is discharged from the hospital. She also sought assistance to pay off the loan Leonardo took to purchase a tricycle he drove for their daily subsistence before he was hospitalized.
Other patients who benefited from zero billing that Marcos met were Jenard Castillo Galasinao, 21 of Bacarra, Ilocos Norte, who was treated for severe leptospirosis; Cirilo Urvayo Urcia, 74 of Magsingal, Ilocos Sur, who received treatment for multiple conditions, including metabolic encephalopathy and anemia of chronic disease; and Leonardo Batara Tolentino, 56 of Piddig, Ilocos Norte, who completed treatment for post-infectious Parkinsonism and meningitis.
Dr. Jose Orosa III, officer-in-charge and medical center chief of MMMH & MC, said in a media interview at the sidelines of the President’s visit as of Sunday, 61,524 patients have already benefited from the Department of Health’s zero-billing program with fully covered hospitalization costs amounting to P1.43 billion.
Orosa said that under the zero-balance billing, 298,221 patients have already benefited at the hospital since July, translating to P26.4 billion in combined billing of patients admitted for basic accommodation.
He also said the MMMH & MC has been implementing the zero-billing program even before Marcos’ announcement during his state of the nation address (SONA) in July through the Medical Assistance for Indigent Program (MAIP).
He said from February to September, 40,200 patients have already benefited through MAIP which has covered P104 million in hospital bills.
Orosa said the MMMH & MC, a Level III tertiary government hospital with a 400-bed capacity, serves patients not just from Ilocos Norte but also from the nearby provinces of Ilocos Sur, Abra, Cagayan, and Apayao.
