Cebu City mulls tough cuts in meds program to keep it alive longer

Some P24M budgeted for program that gives away maintenance meds

Some 25,000 beneficiaries may have to make do without the Cebu City Government’s assistance in providing their medications or paying for their hospital bills in 2018.

The Cebu City Government wants to make the Long Life Medical Assistance Program last longer and, to do so, are considering putting a cap on the number of beneficiaries.

Program head Peter Visitacion said that it provides for some 55,000 beneficiaries at present, but the council is considering a cap of 30,000 next year.

Councilor Margot Osmeña, who heads the council committee on budget and finance, said that the program has expanded so fast that the City’s budget for it might not suffice. The challenge will be explaining to thousands of beneficiaries why they won’t qualify for the assistance anymore.

To make sure that the P213-million budget for the City Hospitalization Assistance and Medicines Program and Long Life Medical Assistance Program (LLAMP) for 2018 becomes sustainable, the Cebu City Council committee on budget and finance suggested maintaining a 30,000-beneficia- ry target.

Peter Visitacion, LLAMP head, said the program currently caters to around 55,000 beneficiaries, adding that they plan to expand so more people can receive daily maintenance medicine from the City Government.

But Councilor Margarita Osmeña, head of the committee, said that this might not be sustainable.

Of the more than P200 million budget, some P24 million has been allocated for Long Life.

Suggestion

Osmeña said the program’s rate of expansion is “so fast”, but the budget can’t keep up.

“I’m just worried about the beneficiaries that they will be so disappointed and that’s not the objective of this program,” she said.

Visitacion admitted that there were days when they were short in supply. He said that more residents are asking for maintenance medicine even though they are not on the list of beneficiaries.

“We were at the state of no stopping. The situation before was that houses one and four benefited. Upon hearing this, houses two and three also declared that they have family members who need the medicine,” he said.

Osmeña suggested making non-beneficiaries understand that the program can only cater to qualified beneficiaries.