PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. yesterday reaffirmed his commitment to realize the full implementation of Universal Health Care (UHC).
“We are near to meeting our goal of fully implementing Universal Health Care, we are close to meeting our goal with 80 percent of Filipinos now covered by PhilHealth (Philippine Health Insurance Corporation,” he said.
The President said he aspires to achieve universal healthcare for all Filipinos, which he said would soon be possible.
“It’s just a question of building up the economy so we can afford it, number one, and putting in the system. The systems are all in place,” he added.
The President visited and inspected the Bataan General Hospital and Medical Center (Bataan GHMC) in Balanga yesterday to personally see the implementation of the zero-balance billing system in the public hospital.
During the visit, Marcos interacted with some of the patients, medical team, healthcare workers and hospital staff and toured the Bagong Urgent Care and Ambulatory Services (Bucas) Center, the Cancer Center and the Surgical and Burn Center Building and Radiotheranostics Building being constructed.
Marcos recognized the hospital’s practice of providing added convenience to the patients and their families by delivering “zero bills” to the patient’s room instead of letting them queue at the cashier to ensure faster and smoother discharge from the hospital.
“Once the patient is close to being discharged, they deliver the zero billing, another added convenience which I think we should adopt all over the country,” he said.
Marcos was referring to the Bataan GHMC’s Patient Assist and Roving Personnel who provide hands-on support in the processing and submission of PhilHealth’s requirements for admitted patients. This process aims to eliminate delays and the burden of administrative tasks on patients as well as their family members.
The President said he was glad that the zero-balance billing system had been instituted, as it had already been a long time coming.
At least 3,000 patients from Central Luzon have already benefited from the zero-billing system, which Marcos announced during his state of the nation address (SONA).
The President again acknowledged and thanked the members of the Filipino medical community for their hard work and care for their patients, as he again recalled the country’s experience during the coronavirus pandemic.
As this developed, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released P6.767 billion to cover the remaining Public Health Emergency Benefits and Allowances (Pheba) of more than 1.4 million medical workers from 2021 to 2023.
