THE Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), in its continuing quest to make its services more accessible to more Filipinos nationwide, will soon be instituting a help desk in some hospitals to shorten the process to request financial assistance for medical-related and healthcare-related concerns.
I have already mentioned this in previous columns over the past several months, and, since then, much progress has been made in structuring the program for implementation in the very near future.
Under Assistant General Manager and dentist Larry R. Cedro, the Charity Sector, through its Charity Assistance Department (CAD) Manager Rubin Z. Magno, and with the collaboration of hospitals, envisioned a help desk that will “serve as a point of access” to the PCSO’s Individual Medical Assistance Program (Imap), according to a PCSO study on the program.
The PCSO Imap subsidizes the following: Hospitalization and surgeries; treatments, such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy and dialysis; laboratory and diagnostic procedures; medical devices and implants; and other related needs.
The help-desk program, dubbed PCSO “Asap,” (“At Source Ang Processing,” as suggested by PCSO Director lawyer Francisco G. Joaquin III) makes it easier for applicants for PCSO assistance to file their Imap requests and documentary requirements.
The PCSO Asap Program will “address the long queues” of applicants at the PCSO’s CAD, which is at the Lung Center of the Philippines in Quezon City. People line up there early in the morning to file their requests and documentary requirements for Imap assistance, and to be interviewed by social workers who will assess their cases and make the necessary recommendations before they are served under the Imap.
A help desk at the hospital or other health-care facility will relieve clients from having to make a personal appearance for interview at the PCSO CAD at the Lung Center.
Instead, they will be interviewed at the hospital by a social worker provided by the hospital and briefed by PCSO about the program. The hospital’s social worker will assess the client’s case, and, if the client is qualified under the Imap, make recommendations to PCSO regarding the assistance to be given.
The assessment and recommendation made by the social worker at the PCSO Desk shall be reviewed by PCSO if necessary.
For confinement requests, PCSO assistance shall come after the deduction of all applicable discounts, such as Philippine Health Insurance Corp., health insurance, senior citizen discounts and the like.
These are some of the guidelines under an interim set of implementing rules and regulations governing the program that was approved by the PCSO Board of Directors last week, subject to further refinement and tweaking during the first few months of implementation of the Asap Program.
PCSO will soon be releasing a list of its partner health facilities (PHF), as well as the time frame for the signing of agreements with them, ideally to take place within the coming weeks.
The roll-out of the PCSO Desks at the PHFs will commence after the first batch of social workers for the Desk are trained.
In addition to the PCSO Asap Program is yet another service program that will make it easier for clients undergoing chemotherapy, hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis to receive PCSO Imap assistance.
PCSO CAD is working out details for an enrollment program that will require clients undergoing the above-listed forms of regular treatments to submit documentary requirements only once, instead of every time they file a request.
Requests for chemo medicines and dialysis treatments are processed by PCSO on a short-cycle basis to take into account changes in the medicine’s dosage, treatment frequency, and the like. Relevant papers are required to be resubmitted each time.
The enrollment program is being designed to eliminate redundant steps to expedite and facilitate the processing of requests, both on client side and the PCSO side.
PCSO is looking forward to the implementation of these innovations—PCSO Asap and the PCSO enrollment program—that will enhance the delivery of its charter-mandated core service, medical- and health care-related assistance.
Feedback from clients and partners contributed to the development of these programs, and we are grateful for the constructive comments that inspire us to continue improving the ways we serve the Filipino people.
Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II is the vice chairman and general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.
1 comment
Thanks you PCSO for your valuable assistance! Every improvement in your IMAP program is highly appreciated! I hope you increase the allowance for your medical assistance program!