Apr 25,2012
His Excellency
Benigno S Aquino III
President of Philippines
Subject: Bring Home our Elderly and Disabled Abroad
Dear Mr. President:
While you are focused in the economic development of the Philippines (PH), there is a huge economic opportunity that is being overlooked and awaiting to be tapped.
This is an opportune time and a good topic to discuss with President Barack Obama during your US state visit comes June 2012.
Presently, there are around 400,000 Fil-Ams and Filipino legal residents in US who are senior citizens (65- year old and above) and disabled.
For the most part of their lives, they have labored hard abroad and sent home regularly their remittances to their relatives. For so long, most of them desire to return and retire in PH.
But they can’t! US Medicare will not cover members outside of US.
How will it benefit the Philippines and US? – Will promote Medical Tourism.
Should they come home, each will spend around $150/ month for medical care. That would be around $720 million/ year for PH hospitals. For its part, US Medicare could save up to around $2 billion/year. This too, could also help decongest Guam’s one and only civilian hospital.
– Pump dollars into the economy.
With an average pension of $1,000 / month per person, that would be $4.8 billion/ year for cash-strapped PH…just peanuts for the US economy .
As years go by, more will continue to come home. This will continuously support our economy and medical tourism. This US model/pattern could be replicated for Canada, Australia, Europe for that matter worldwide. Could you imagine the great potentials for our country while providing great relief to our elderly and disabled?
While they are our modern heroes, in return, what fitting act could we bestow upon them in the ebb of their lives? Please, do not be fazed by some of US medical professionals and politicians who are too concerned with the dollar-outflow from US but overlook the moral, human, and Christian dimensions of this issue. Our kababayans had already given to their host country their best in terms of expertise, labor, and intellectual shares during their prime years. All these years, they have well patronized the US medical care. Now, that they are old and disabled, they indeed deserve to return home and take their final break in life.
Their voices resonate.”Let our tired bodies find rest and ultimately repose in the warm bosom of our motherland for so many decades we have greatly missed.”
No president has ever seriously pursued this. When you achieve it, I strongly believe that this will be a crowning glory of your presidency.
If no one will do it, who else will? If not now, then when?
Mr. President, being the father to your children, this is my urgent and clarion call: “Bring them home!”
Godspeed.
Very truly yours,
Pat Duque
Chairman, Medicare Advocacy Council, Guam
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Weekend May 5-8. 2012 Sec. A pg. 13)
