Manila: The Department of Health (DOH) has announced that new guidelines for the Medical Assistance for Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) are set to be released in February. These guidelines aim to streamline the process and remove the need for guarantee letters from elected officials for covering patient bills in hospitals.
According to Philippines News Agency, the DOH emphasized that the guidelines are in response to a directive from President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., who mandated that the reliance on guarantee letters should be eliminated. The updated guidelines will expand benefit coverage to include a variety of healthcare services such as ambulatory care, surgical clinics, eye centers, ophthalmology services, dental services, free-standing dialysis clinics, and FDA-approved medicines. Furthermore, the new guidelines will ensure 100-percent coverage of doctors' professional fees in accordance with DOH standards.
The funding for MAIFIP has seen an increase from PHP41 billion under the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) to PHP51.6 billion this year. This increased budget will form the foundation for the new guidelines, which the DOH plans to unveil by the end of next month. Malaca±ang has defended the increase in MAIFIP allocation in the 2026 GAA, clarifying that the funds will be directed to local government units and hospitals, with the DOH leading the implementation efforts.
