Manila: The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday pledged to expand the benefits provided by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to allocate an additional PHP60 billion to the agency under the proposed 2026 national budget.
According to Philippines News Agency, during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Finance Subcommittee on Health, chaired by Senator Pia Cayetano, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa, who also serves as chairman of the PhilHealth Board, presented the agency’s plans to strengthen healthcare coverage. Herbosa stated that benefits will be increased for illnesses that remain among the leading causes of death among Filipinos, such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and cancer.
The President has expressed the need for PhilHealth to further increase its coverage of healthcare expenses, including expanding benefits for dental care and mental health. Herbosa also affirmed PhilHealth’s commitment to sustaining its Zero Balance Billing (ZBB) policy, ensuring that patients in accredited public hospitals will no longer face out-of-pocket costs.
Herbosa indicated that the DOH is pushing for ZBB expansion to include major provincial and city government hospitals. The DOH is proposing a new line item in the General Appropriations Act to be called ‘Zero Balance Billing support for Level 2 and Level 3 LGU hospitals.’ If funded, this will greatly help beyond just DOH-managed hospitals.
In a letter submitted to Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, Herbosa outlined the agency’s plans to broaden health coverage and improve access to affordable care for Filipinos. These plans include enhancing dental benefits, expanding mental health care, providing animal bite treatment, and offering optometric services and devices for senior citizens, among others.
Herbosa also underscored the implementation of PhilHealth’s Yaman ng Kalusugan Program para Malayo sa Sakit (YAKAP), which will provide annual physical examinations, laboratory screenings, and health risk assessments for senior citizens. To ensure continuity of the Zero Balance Billing program, the DOH is adopting a multi-financing approach.
The DOH is committed to expanding PhilHealth-accredited facilities, simplifying accreditation for primary care providers, and intensifying public information campaigns about PhilHealth membership and benefits. The department pledged to submit a detailed roadmap to the Senate by Dec. 31, 2025, outlining strategies for financing, phased implementation of benefits, benchmarks, and monitoring mechanisms.
