PHILIPPINE Charity Sweepstakes Office general manager Alexander Balutan revealed Thursday the expansion of more health lanes, bringing these to 86 partner-hospitals nationwide as the agency continues to enhance and innovate its medical assistance programs and projects for easy access for Filipinos.
“This is consistent with the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte to bring PCSO’s charity services to the people. PCSO walks the extra mile to reach you, it’s charity for all,” Balutan said in a press release.
PCSO’s sources of funds for charitable programs and projects are the expanded Small Town Lottery, Lotto, Keno, among others.
Duterte wants PCSO to fund the government’s “free-medicine-for-all” program.
In 2016, 319,091 Filipinos nationwide became IMAP beneficiaries, an increase of 27.7 percent from 2015, which came up to 249,751.
These health lanes are called “At-Source-Ang-Processing” help desks where anyone applying for financial assistance through the PCSO’s Individual Medical Assistance Program can file a request, making the process easier because they no longer have to go to the main office of PCSO.
Assistant General Manager for Charity Sector Dr. Larry Cedro explained that ASAP was a delivery system of the IMAP established to hasten the provision of services and relieve clients of the need to go to the PCSO main office or its branch offices to avail themselves of assistance.
“The intention is easier access to services so both government and private hospitals are in this, the intention is access for all,” Cedro said.
Cedro explained that under the ASAP program, if an individual were admitted to a partner-hospital, the relative of the individual could now approach the social services of the partner-hospital and file the required documents there.
According to Cedro, once complete documents are submitted, the PCSO Desk Medical Social Worker evaluates the case and transmits the results and the pertinent information to PCSO for validation and determination of the financial assistance to be granted.
“It is still PCSO that decides [the amount], not the partner,” Cedro added.
There are 42 operational PCSO desks in partner hospitals nationwide, 34 of which are in Metro Manila and eight in the provinces.