Joselito Malig

Article (news)

THUMBNAIL-MEDICAL

Raphael Bosano

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The Department of Health said it is expecting more of the public to turn to public hospitals for their medical needs following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s announcement that their hospitalization will be paid for by government.“Wala nang kailangan bayaran ang pasyente basta sa DOH hospital dahil bayad na po ang bill ninyo,” Marcos said on Monday.(There will be nothing that needs to be paid for by patients as long as they are in DOH hospitals because the bill has already been paid for.)<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/health-science/2025/7/28/-areglado-na-marcos-touts-zero-billing-for-basic-accommodation-in-doh-hospitals-1753">&#x27;Areglado na&#x27;: Marcos touts &#x27;zero billing&#x27; for basic accommodation in DOH hospitals</a></div>In a post-SONA briefing, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said hospital beds are fixed in every hospital. This means that if the number of patients in public hospitals reach the brim, the DOH would eventually have to tap private hospitals.“Ang private hospitals, to get their license, 10 percent of their beds have to be charity. Ibig sabihin nun, equivalent to the basic accommodation ng government hospitals. So I’m hoping the private hospitals also step in,” he said.(For private hospitals to get their license, 10 percent of their beds have to be for charity. This means it’s the equivalent of the basic accommodation of government hospitals.)Fees for private hospitals, he said, will be paid by PhilHealth.However, there will still be instances where a patient may still need to co-pay especially if their confinement happens in speciality hospitals that are government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCC).“Yung ating kidney institute, heart center, lung center, and children’s medical center, meron pa rin co-pay doon kasi nga subsidized. Kasi we treat them like a private. Pero pag na-admit kasi meron kaming mga packages doon, yung mga benefit packages na, like for example sa heart, yung PCI package, na cover nila na wala nang babayaran ang patient,” Herbosa explained.(Our kidney institute, heart center, lung center and children’s medical center will have co-pay because we treat them like a private hospital. But if a patient gets admitted, there are packages for example for heart, PCI package. This is covered and therefore the patient will not have to pay.)The DOH also allayed concerns of sustainability of the no balance billing in public hospitals saying that PhilHealth packages are regularly reviewed and its coverage expanded.“Tingin namin, sustainable. Ang key dito, magkano every year ang ibibigay ng government sa budget namin. Para magawa ang no balance billing, 15 percent increase in the maintenance operating expense. That’s in billions.”(We think this is sustainable. The key here is how much will the government be giving to us. To be able to do no balance billing, we need an increase by 15 percent of maintenance operating expenses. That’s in billions.)Despite the need for additional funding, the DOH does not see the possibility of increasing its annual budget in the coming years. Herbosa said he is banking on the positive change in the public’s habits and health seeking behavior as one of the factors towards a healthier nation.“I expect health promotion and disease prevention will improve. Tamang pagkain, ehersisyo at disiplina. The key is, we focus on wellness, good nutrition, check up with the YAKAP program.”Aside from no balance billing, the president also flaunted expanded Philhealth benefits and a “revitalized” Konsulta Program, now known as YAKAP. The program includes free services such as screening for catastrophic diseases like cancer and the expansion of free medicines from 21 to 75 types to help manage, if not completely avoid illness.

The Department of Health said it is expecting more of the public to turn to public hospitals for their medical needs following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s announcement that their hospitalization will be paid for by government.

The Department of Health said it is expecting more of the public to turn to public hospitals for their medical needs following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s announcement that their hospitalization will be paid for by government.

DOH expects rise in patients following Marcos' 'no balance billing' in public hospitals

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DOH expects rise in patients following Marcos' 'no balance billing' in public hospitals

Raphael Bosano,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 29, 2025 08:48 PM PHT

Read More:

DOH

Department of Health

SONA

State of the Nation Address

no balance billing

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