PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is eyeing zero payment for all patients receiving treatment and services in the hospitals once the country’s economy improves.
The President, during the distribution of 387 Patient Transport Vehicles (PTVs) to different parts of Luzon yesterday, said the government has adopted and implemented various programs to improve the health services provided to Filipinos, including a bigger health coverage under the Philippine Health Insurance (PhilHealth) to minimize their out-of-pocket expenses.
However, Marcos said that despite this, some patients continue to spend their own money to cover other medical expenses that were incurred on top of their PhilHealth insurance coverage.
“As for PhilHealth, we are increasing its insurance coverage as well as the services it provides. We are reducing the payment because the patient still has to pay when he goes for a check-up or treatment,” Marcos said.
“We will slowly reduce the patient’s contribution and when we have our economy well organized and we can afford it, the patient will no longer pay,” he added.
The President said the current “system is not sufficient,” which prevents the government from fully implementing the zero payment scheme.
“Of course, the funds are always insufficient. But we are maneuvering, we are massaging the budget carefully to accelerate the improvement of health services for our countrymen,” Marcos said.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro clarified that the President was talking about his aspiration for the public to limit the out-of-pocket payment of Filipinos for hospital and health services, and not the PhilHealth contributions.
As part of his commitment to enhance healthcare accessibility and improve emergency response nationwide, the President joined the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) in distributing 387 Patient Transport Vehicles (PTVs) to various local government units (LGUs) in Luzon.
A total of 387 PTVs were turned over to various cities and municipalities in Regions I (Ilocos), II (Cagayan Valley), III (Central Luzon), IV-A (CALABARZON), IV-B (MIMAROPA), V (Bicol) and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
The PTVs are part of the PCSO’s Medical Transport Vehicle Donation Program (MTVDP), which aims to provide LGUs and hospitals, particularly those in vulnerable and disadvantaged communities, with much-needed medical transport vehicles.
Each PTV is equipped with essential medical tools, including a stretcher, oxygen tank, blood pressure monitor and other supplies to ensure safe and timely transport of patients.
The President urged the local government units (LGUs) to use the PTVs properly and ensure their maintenance.
Marcos said the current model is slightly smaller than the ambulances that are usually used in other countries to ensure that it fits streets in the Philippines, especially in Metro Manila, but he assured that it is durable and easily maintained.
To date, the PCSO has already distributed 680 PTVs across all regions from July 2022 to June 2025.
The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said an additional 985 PTVs are scheduled for deployment within the year.
Marcos said once the government completes the distribution of the PTVs this year, the PCSO would distribute additional PTVs to cities and municipalities with bigger populations to ensure that they would be able to continuously respond to emergencies.
The PCSO said it has allocated P1 billion to procure 395 more PTVs this year, which are targeted to be distributed starting in 2026 to LGUs that requested them.
