CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga —Responding to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr’s directive for zero out-of-pocket health costs, Philhealth Region 3 reaffirmed the full implementation of the No Co-Payment Policy in both public and select private hospitals.
In his recent State of the Nation Address (SONA), the President affirmed the continued implementation of the zero balance billing in all Department of Health (DOH) hospitals across the country, assuring patients in basic or ward accommodations that they will not be charged beyond what PhilHealth covers.
“Wala ng kailangan pang puntahan o lapitan pa, itinuloy na po natin ang Zero Balance Billing — libre po. Ibig sabihin, ang serbisyo sa basic accommodation sa ating mga DOH na hospital, wala ng babayaran ang pasyente dahil bayad na ang bill ninyo,” he said.
(You don’t need to go anywhere, we have continued the Zero Balance Billing — it is free. This means that for basic accommodation services in our DOH hospitals, the patient will not have to pay anything because their bill has already been paid.)
The No Co-Payment Policy ensures that all qualified members, regardless of membership categories, are not required to pay additional fees when admitted to basic or ward accommodations.
“This expands the No Balance Billing scheme, which only applies to select members such as indigents and senior citizens,” Philhealth Region 3 Benefit Administration Section B Head Dr. Julieta Diaz said.
Also, the policy applies to private health facilities, which are required to allocate at least 10 percent of their beds for Philhealth-covered ward accommodations.
Philhealth Region 3 said they are monitoring policy compliance through patient exit surveys, regular forums with health facility partners, and legal enforcement for reported violations.
Members may also report issues via Philhealth’s 24/7 ‘Click to Call’ feature on its official website.
From January to June 2025, PhilHealth Central Luzon paid P20.7 billion in claims, within only 11 to 15 days processing time, faster than the 60-day regulatory limit.
“This is because of our close coordination with healthcare providers and our active claims reconciliation efforts,” Philhealth Public Affairs Unit Head Monifer S. Bansil said.
With over 12.56 million registered beneficiaries in Region 3 and 2.8 million in Pampanga alone, Philhealth emphasized that zero billing is not a goal but a right that every Filipino member can now access.
