An Act Establishing Malasakit Centers in all Department of Health (DOH) Hospitals in the Country and in the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), Providing Funds Therefor and for Other Purposes

Eighteenth Congress
First Regular Session

Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-second day of July, two thousand nineteen.

REPUBLIC ACT No. 11463

An Act Establishing Malasakit Centers in all Department of Health (DOH) Hospitals in the Country and in the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), Providing Funds Therefor and for Other Purposes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippine Congress Assembled:

Section 1. Short Title.— This Act shall be known as the "Malasakit Centers Act".

Section 2. Declaration of Policies.— It is the declared policy of the State to improve the delivery of health care services to the people, and to ensure access to and efficiency in the process of availing medical and financial assistance to fund health services. Towards this end, the State shall:

Section 3. Definition of Terms.— For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall mean:

Section 4. Malasakit Program.— The DOH shall establish a Malasakit Program that all DOH hospitals and the PGH shall adopt and implement. It shall have the following objectives:

The DOH shall provide policy direction and pertinent guidelines, in consultation with the DSWD, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) and the PhilHealth to ensure and promote responsive and effective social service engagement in Malasakit Centers.

Section 5. Malasakit Program Office.— There shall be established a Malasakit Program Office in the DOH by augmenting, reclassifying and strengthening the existing Public Assistance Unit (PAU) of the DOH. The Malasakit Program Office shall oversee the operations of the Malasakit Centers.

The DOH, in coordination with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), shall ensure the creation of adequate and appropriate plantilla positions and staffing pattern to the Malasakit Program Office.

Section 6. Malasakit Centers.— There shall be established a Malasakit Center in all DOH hospitals and the PGH which shall:

There shall be a special lane in each Malasakit Center for the exclusive use of senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs).

The Malasakit Centers shall be non-partisan, convenient, free of charge, accessible, and shall have a standard system of availment of assistance.

The local government units (LGUs), state universities and colleges (SUCs), Department of National Defense (DND), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) including the Philippine National Police (PNP), Department of Justice (DOJ) and other public hospitals may establish Malasakit Centers: Provided, That said hospitals meet the following standards and criteria:

Public hospitals with existing Malasakit Centers shall comply with the abovementioned standards and criteria. The DOH may augment Malasakit Centers personnel in other pub he hospitals subject to standards and criteria to be set by the DOH.

Section 7. Administration of the Malasakit Centers.— The incumbent Medical Director, Chief of Hospital or Medical Center Chief shall be designated as the Malasakit Centers Director, who shall oversee the proper management and efficient operation of the Malasakit Center. The Malasakit Center Director shall:

The Malasakit Center Director shall assign the Head of the Medical Social Work Office as the Malasakit Center Operations Manager, who shall take charge of the day-to-day management and operations of the Malasakit Centers. The Malasakit Center Director, and Malasakit Center Operations Manager, shall receive no extra compensation.

Section 8. Personnel Complement. — The Malasakit Center shall be adequately staffed by medical social workers and support staff. The Medical Director, Chief of Hospital or Medical Center Chief shall appoint and assign such other personnel as may be necessary for the effective operation of the Malasakit Centers.

Each Malasakit Center shall consist of duly designated representatives from the DOH, DSWD, PCSO and the PhilHealth. The DOH, DSWD and PCSO representatives shall process and approve the requests for medical and financial assistance. The PhilHealth representative shall assist in the availment of benefits and address other PhilHealth-related concerns of patients.

The DOH, DSWD, PCSO, and the PhilHealth are hereby authorized to create the required plantilla and staffing pattern necessary for the implementation of this Act in coordination with the DBM. Civil Service Commission (CSC), and the Governance Commission for Government Owned or Controlled Corporations (GCG), as the case may be.

The DOH and the DSWD shall include in their budgetary submission to the DBM the required budget for the personnel services requirements of each Malasakit Center. Such budgetary requirement shall be included in the budgets of the respective agencies in the General Appropriations Act.

Section 9. Medical and Financial Assistance.— The Malasakit Centers shall facilitate access to the following medical and financial assistance:

Nothing in this Act shall limit access to or availability of medical and financial assistance only to indigent and financially incapacitated patients referred through Malasakit Centers.

The medical social worker shall assess the patient’s eligibility and provide such patient with complete information of the type, form or character and degree or extent of welfare assistance that the patient may receive or benefit from various funding sources at the Malasakit Centers.

In cases of patients who are admitted in LGU and other public hospitals but who are otherwise eligible for medical and financial assistance under this Act, they may be extended such medical and financial assistance through the Malasakit Centers or through the government agencies concerned.

In case of non-availability of clinically indicated drugs, medicines, tests, services or procedures in DOH hospital, the DOH hospital may enter into a contract with DOH-accredited private health facility to provide the needed drug, test, service or procedure to the patient, charged against the hospital, subject to the guidelines set by the DOH.

The DOH, DSWD, PhilHealth and the PCSO shall issue uniform guidelines for the proper implementation of medical and financial assistance to indigent and financially incapacitated patients, which shall include availment procedures, order of charging of payments, recording and reporting, and monitoring and evaluation.

In the implementation of this provision, the efficient and most streamlined delivery of assistance to all beneficiaries shall be the primary consideration. All rules, regulations, processes, and practices shall be formulated and implemented with the end in goal of achieving this purpose.

Nothing in this Act shall prohibit a patient or his/her representative from accessing and requesting medical and financial assistance directly from the abovementioned agencies.

Section 10. Monitoring and. Evaluation.— The DOH shall conduct monitoring and evaluation to assess the responsiveness of Malasakit Centers, including a client satisfaction survey, utilizing indicators such as reduced waiting time, percentage of indigent and financially incapacitated patients served and percentage of complaints endorsed for action, among others.

Section 11. Penal Provisions.—

Section 12. Annual Report.— The DOH, DSWD, PCSO and the PhilHealth shall jointly submit to the Office of the President of the Philippines, Senate Committee on Health and Demography, and the House of Representatives Committee on Health on or before the end of December of every year, or upon the request of any of the aforesaid offices, a report giving a detailed account of the status of the implementation of this Act.

Section 13. Appropriations.— The amount necessary for the establishment and operation of Malasakit Centers shall be included in the General Appropriations Act.

The amounts earmarked under Section 288-A of the National Internal Revenue Code, as amended, for medical assistance shall be appropriated under the DOH, specifically for medical assistance to indigent patients, portion of which shall be allotted for DOH hospitals and the PGH: Provided, That other public hospitals without Malasakit Centers shall continue to receive medical assistance from the DOH.

Section 14. Implementing Rules and Regulations.— Within ninety (90) days from the approval of this Act, the DOH, PhilHealth, DSWD and the PCSO shall jointly issue the implementing rules and regulations of this Act.

Section 15. Separability Clause.— Any portion or provision of this Act that is declared unconstitutional shall not have the effect of nullifying other portions or provisions hereof as long as such remaining portions can still subsist and be given effect in their entirety.

Section 16. Repealing Clause.— All laws, ordinances, rules, regulations, other issuances or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with this Act, are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Section 17. Effectivity.— This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,

(Sgd) ALAN PETER S. CAYETANO
Speaker of the House of Representatives

(Sgd) VICENTE C. SOTTO III
President of the Senate

This Act was passed by the Senate of the Philippines and the House of Representatives on November 11, 2019 and November 18, 2019, respectively.

(Sgd) JOSE LUIS G. MONTALES
Acting Secretary General
House of Representatives

(Sgd) MYRA MARIE D. VILLARICA
Secretary of the Senate

(Sgd) RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE
President of the Philippines

Approved: December 3, 2019.