Many families in the Philippines could hardly provide food on the table, how much more if someone in their family gets sick? Good thing there’s a government agency, the PCSO (Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office), who’s willing to help the poor people of the country for their medical needs. PCSO has different kinds of games where they get the amount they allocate for the Filipinos who don’t have enough money for their medical needs. The agency gives different types of assistance provided that they meet the requirements.
PCSO Medical Assistance
For those who don’t have enough money to buy medicines or medical treatment for an illness, the PCSO will provide monetary assistance. They just have to submit a letter of request signed by the sick person or from a family member addressed to the General Manager or Chairman of the PCSO. The original or certified true copy of the medical abstract signed by the attending physician and containing the license number must be attached to the letter. A prescription that is duly signed by the doctor and the ID of the person seeking assistance must also be brought when going to the PCSO office to seek medical assistance.
Hospital Bill
If there’s no enough money to pay for the hospital bill, the PCSO will also assist. A letter of request addressed to the General Manager or Chairman, original and certified true copy of the medical abstract signed by the doctor must be submitted to PCSO office. The statement of account or bill that’s certified by the credit supervisor or billing officer of the hospital should also be submitted together with the endorsement letter from the collection office or social service of the hospital.
Diagnostic and Laboratory Procedures
Just like the other assistance provided by the PCSO, the requirements are the same. The price of the diagnostic procedures should also be attached to the other documents.
Wheelchair, Hearing Aid, and Implants / Prosthetics
The agency also gives aid for different medical devices and implants for patients. If a patient needs a wheelchair or prosthetics, they just have to submit an original or certified true copy of the medical abstract or a medical certificate that has the attending physician’s signature with his license number.
If the request is for a wheelchair, the doctor must write the specifications and the patient must present the price from two different companies. A whole-body picture of the patient should also be submitted. For hearing aids, the patient should submit a letter of request addressed to the General Manager or Chairman of PCSO. The original copy of the audiological evaluation report duly signed by the audiometrist must also be attached together with prices from two different hearing aid centers, and photocopy of the ID of the requestor.
As of today, the General Manager of PCSO is Alexander Balutan and the Chairman is Anselmo Simeon Pinili.