Falling ill doesn’t just point to several days in bed, feeling miserable, and missing work or school; it also means shelling out money for the doctor’s fee, medicines, laboratory works, or hospital confinement. Mild diseases may not cause a huge dip in your savings, but critical illnesses, such as cancer and stroke, or a condition that requires surgery, may put you and your family in a financial crisis. To help ease the burden, here’s how you can find medical assistance in the Philippines.

The DOH’s Medical Assistance Program

If you’re in need of medical assistance in the Philippines, you might want to look into the Department of Health’s Medical Assistance Program (MAP).

Eligible beneficiaries include those who are seeking consultation, examination, rehabilitation, or otherwise confined in government hospitals regardless of room category.

Generally, the DOH has partnerships with various hospitals. If the hospital has already received funds for MAP (Retained Health Facilities with Downloaded Funds), you can ask for financial medical assistance directly from the facility. The hospital will then process everything.

For non-DOH hospitals and those without downloaded funds yet, you may ask for assistance from the MAP Unit.

Note that the program doesn’t release funds directly to the patients and that professional fees are not covered.

For the list of facilities involved in the MAP, refer to this page.

Office of the President

Should you wish to request medical assistance in the Philippines, the Office of the President provided the following contact details:

Contact No. : 8-2498310 loc. 8175 or 8182, 8-736-8645, 8-736-8603, 8-736-8606, 8-736-8629, 8-736-8621,

Telefax 8-736-8621

Email Address: [email protected]

Office of the Vice President (OVP)

The Office of the Vice President can provide medical assistance in the Philippines since it has Memorandum of Agreement with multiple private and government hospitals, private dialysis centers, and medical supplies and diagnostic centers.

The client can request assistance once a year but may not be eligible if they are in a private ward or private room by choice.

For the list of institutions affiliated with the OVP, requirements, and medical assistance form, you can refer to this page.

Senate Public Assistance Office

To still be of service to the people, the Senate Public Assistance Office has launched the online application for medical assistance in the Philippines.

The procedure mainly involves preparing the Medical Assistance Form, necessary requirements, and a personal letter addressed to the senator (email). Afterward, send them to the senator’s email address. People who cannot submit their application online may still submit them to the dropbox located at the senate entrance gate.

The list of requirements and the email addresses of the senators can be found here.

Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR)

The PAGCOR has a “no contact application” for people who need medical assistance in the Philippines. As of now, they prioritize patients who receive chemotherapy and those undergoing dialysis.

Instead of queueing, you may send the required documents to the dropbox at the lobby of PAGCOR Corporate Annex, 1105 United Nations Avenue, Ermita, Manila.

After the submission, updates will be sent thru SMS or text messages. PAGCOR officials also emphasize that they will not process fake and incomplete documents.

Learn more about the requirements here.

Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office

People who want medical assistance in the Philippines often go to PCSO.

Through their flagship program, Individual Medical Assistance Program, they provide clients with a guarantee letter indicating that PCSO is assuming the obligations for a specific amount due from the client for the services the healthcare facility rendered.

You can ask for assistance for the following:

• Confinement
• Chemotherapy
• Dialysis
• Medicines

For the complete list of general and specific requirements, you can head over to this page. Currently, PCSO offers an online application for applicants in the National Capital Region. Also, here’s the list of Medicine Providers that accept PCSO Guarantee Letter.

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)

The DSWD offers medical and hospitalization assistance to people in crisis, those who are indigent (as certified by their barangay), and those who haven’t availed of their Crisis Unit Intervention assistance within the year.

The processing time varies. For instance, the issuance of a guarantee letter only takes about 20 minutes, cash disbursement may take a little less than an hour, and issuance of a check may take a couple of days.

You can find the complete list of requirements and processes here.

Likewise, DSWD also provides financial assistance to people who need medicines. In their Memorandum Circular, it is mentioned that eligible beneficiaries needing less than 5,000 PHP may only need a confirmation from a doctor about the veracity of the prescription. For amounts, more than Php5,000, a Social Case Study Report is required.

Typically, the amount of allowable assistance is only up to Php25,000. If the case is justifiable, DSWD may offer up to Php75,000. For the list of requirements, you can head over to their Memorandum Circular.

Malasakit Centers

Malasakit Center is like a one-stop shop for people who need assistance for their medical or hospitalization needs. It brings together various government offices, such as PCSO, PhilHealth, PAGCOR, and DSWD under one roof.

Do you need medical assistance in the Philippines? If so, consider reaching out to the nearest Malasakit Center near you.

Learn more about General Health issues here.