More indigent patients will benefit from the significant increase in the 2024 budget of the Department of Health (DOH).

Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, chair of the Committee on Health and Demography, said Monday that the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA) earmarked PHP241.1 billion for the DOH, higher than the initial proposal of PHP199.1 billion in the National Expenditure Program (NEP).

“Dapat walang matanggihan na pasyente (No patients should be turned away) considering the substantial increase in the budget we are allocating for the MAIP (Medical Assistance to Indigent Patients) program,” he in a news release.

He commended the collaborative efforts of his colleagues to augment the DOH’s budget.

“This budget represents hope and improved health opportunities for millions of Filipinos. I am immensely proud that we have managed to secure this for our kababayan (countrymen),” he said.

The budget notably includes increased funding for the operations of DOH Regional Hospitals, which has been raised to approximately PHP50.9 billion in the GAA, up from around PHP49.8 billion in the NEP.

The MAIP program received a substantial boost, with the GAA allocating nearly PHP58.1 billion, higher than the NEP proposal of about PHP22.3 billion.

The Cancer Assistance Fund was also granted an increase of approximately PHP1.25 billion, up from the NEP’s PHP1 billion and 2023 budget of PHP500 million.

The health budget includes PHP20 billion for Public Health Emergency Benefits and Allowances and PHP28.6 billion for the Health Facilities Enhancement Program, including the establishment of 132 more Super Health Centers that Go has advocated for in the past.

“With great budget comes great responsibility. Every peso must be spent wisely, with transparency and accountability, to serve the Filipino people especially the less fortunate,” he said. (PNA)