Palace: 1-M Pinoys benefited from DOH’s zero balance billing policy

More than one million Filipinos have benefited from the government’s zero-balance billing policy in four months, Malacañang said on Wednesday.

“Bilang bahagi ng kampanya ni Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. na palakasin pa ang healthcare sa bansa, umabot na sa higit 1,078,000 patients ang natulungan ng zero-balance billing program ng Department of Health (DOH) matapos lamang ang apat na buwan,” Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said in a press briefing.

(As part of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s campaign to improve the healthcare system in the country, more than 1,078,000 patients benefited from the zero-balance billing program of the Department of Health in just four months.) 

In his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 28, Marcos announced that the government has implemented a zero-balance billing policy to ease the costs of healthcare.

The policy ensures that patients admitted to a basic or ward accommodation in a DOH-listed hospital will have all of their medical expenses fully covered.

Earlier, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said patients must be admitted to the basic accommodation or ward for the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to foot 100% of the bill.

PhilHealth added that they do not ask for any additional documentation from patients in DOH hospitals who avail of the zero-balance billing policy. — JMA, GMA Integrated News