'Zero-billing' in public hospitals to prioritize low-income individuals - DOH

Low-income individuals will be prioritized in the ''zero-billing program'' in government hospitals, the Department of Health (DOH) said Saturday.

On his 67th birthday on September 13, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. directed the Department of Health to shoulder the costs of all inpatient, outpatient, and emergency services in 22 public hospitals nationwide.

More than P300 million has been allocated for the program. 

“Ang utos ng Pangulo ay working class, 'yung pinaka-vulnerable. Uunahin natin ang mga lower income level,” DOH spokesperson Dr. Albert Domingo said in an interview with Super Radyo dzBB.

(The President's order is to cover the working class, the most vulnerable. We will prioritize the lower income level.)

Domingo also said that the government aims to further reduce out-of-pocket health expenses, which stand at P44 for every P100, by 2029. 

''Dapat 'yung out of pocket na P44, dapat mapababa sa pinakamababa siguro P20-P30. Sa mahihirap, dapat mapababa sa zero,'' he said.

(Out-of-pocket expenses, which stand at P44, should be reduced to a minimum of maybe P20-P30. For people with low income, it should be reduced to zero.)  —Sherylin Untalan/VBL, GMA Integrated News