Provide free healthcare to all Pinoys, Marcos tells DOH

Hospitalization must be free of charge in all public hospitals, according to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

“Actually, sinabihan ako ng President, gusto niya lahat ng public hospital libre. Kahit na sinong pumunta doon,” Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said in a recent Palace briefing.

Herbosa said that he intends to get to that point as the President instructed. 

“We have achieved Universal Health Coverage for the poorest Filipinos,” he also said.

The DOH chief said that proof to this is the “No Balance Billing,” which provides free laboratory exams, scans, and other procedures for indigent patients in public hospitals.

Marcos Jr said the healthcare coverage for the rest of Filipinos needs to be addressed now.

The coverage currently does not apply to Filipinos capable of paying for healthcare services, the chief executive explained.

The goal, he added, is to cover every Filipino, regardless of income level, by the end of his term.IMT