The administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is moving to expand health coverage and alleviate medical expenses for Filipino families through a proposed P74.45-billion funding package for the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) under the 2027 national budget.
Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro confirmed that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) included P19 billion specifically targeted at enhancing PhilHealth benefit packages.
“Dahil batid ni Pangulong Marcos Jr. ang bigat ng medical expenses para sa mga pamilyang Pilipino. Ang panukalang pondo ay gagamitin sa pagpapaganda ng benefits ng PhilHealth, kabilang din ang priority health needs gaya ng mental health at severe malnutrition,” Castro stated.
Castro emphasized that the proposed allocation accounts for national government premium subsidies designed to cover eligible beneficiaries, a group projected to exceed 11 million individuals by 2027.
The proposed budget expansion coincides with ongoing government initiatives to reduce direct, out-of-pocket costs for patients receiving care at public facilities.
Highlighting recent ground-level monitoring, Castro noted that during the Handog ng Pangulo activities on September 14, Health Secretary Edwin Mercado visited the Philippine General Hospital to observe the direct delivery of free medical services.
Concurrently, President Marcos continues to roll out assistance for patients by leveraging Zero Balance Billing, enhanced PhilHealth packages, and the Medical Assistance for Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) program.
These integrated health subsidies and safety nets currently serve patients across 84 Department of Health (DOH) hospitals and 44 local government unit (LGU) medical centers nationwide.