Marcos pushes 'zero billing' policy at DOH hospitals

(UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday continued his inspection of government hospitals, this time at the East Avenue Medical Center (EAMC), to ensure that his zero billing policy for patients admitted at Department of Health-run facilities is being carried out.

Marcos, in his last State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July, announced that the government will cover all expenses incurred by Filipinos confined in 83 hospitals directly under the supervision of the DOH.

BEDSIDE MANNER President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. checks in on patients at the orthopedic ward of the East Avenue Medical Center on Aug. 19, 2025. PPA POOL PHOTO BY REVOLI CORTEZ

“We continue with our inspection to ensure that our zero billing program is implemented first of all by all our hospitals, our staff, our doctors, our nurses, and that they understand what the program is and how to avail of the medical services,” he said in Filipino after making the rounds.

“Secondly, the patients and their families also need to know that there is now zero billing,“ he added.

Marcos said he is so far pleased with how the program “is proceeding well.”

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visits the East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City on Aug. 19, 2025 to check on the implementation of his government’s ‘zero billing’ policy on hospitals run by the Department of Health. PHOTOS BY REVOLI CORTEZ/PPA POOL

“I’m happy to be able to report that the zero billing program is proceeding well. Of course, in the beginning, we have to do an information drive, not just in the hospitals but also with the patients and I think we are succeeding,” he said.

He said some 2,400 patients at EAMC have benefited from the policy to date.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. visits East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City on Aug. 19, 2025, to oversee the implementation of the ‘Bayad na Bill Mo’ program or the zero-balance billing policy. Joining the President was Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa and other officials. PPA POOL PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa earlier clarified that patients must be admitted to the basic accommodation or ward to qualify for the program.

Jointly funded by the Department of Health (DOH), Philippine Health Insurance Corp., Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (Maifip), the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., the initiative is meant to make hospitalization more accessible to more Filipinos, and not just indigents.

The president first visited the Eastern Visayas Medical Center in Tacloban City, Leyte, where he expressed satisfaction about the implementation of his administration’s “Bayad na Bill Mo” initiative.

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