CITY OF SAN FERNANDO The 153rd Malasakit Center located inside the OFW Hospital in the city of San Fernando was inaugurated by local officials on Thursday, Nov. 24.
The Malasakit Center Act of 2019 mandates the establishment of a one-stop-shop where indigent patients and their families can access financial and medical assistance from government agencies, including the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.
The one-stop-stop aims to reduce a hospital bill to the lowest amount possible by covering various patient services and expenses, pursuant to Republic Act No. 11463 which Go principally authored and sponsored in the Senate.
More than three million patients have benefitted since the program was initiated in 2018.
Senator Christopher "Bong" Go and Vice Governor Lilia "Nanay" Pineda, along with officials from the Department of Health (DOH), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), PhilHealth, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), PCSO, Bloomberry Cultural Foundation, Inc., and other local officials from the province of Pampanga opened the center the said hospital.
Go said this Malasakit Center is an offering by the government for the more than 11 million OFW heroes who are suffering and working abroad and their families.