The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday confirmed that the government’s newly announced zero-balance billing policy will initially be implemented only in hospitals directly under its management.
This announcement comes after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared in his State of the Nation Address that patients in DOH hospitals will no longer have to pay for services under basic accommodations.
DOH Assistant Secretary Albert Francis Domingo clarified that while many public hospitals operate in the country, not all fall under the administrative and budgetary control of the department.
“Many people think that when you say government hospital, it’s automatically DOH. But our system is actually very complicated,” he admitted.
Some government-run hospitals, such as the Lung Center of the Philippines, the Philippine Heart Center, and the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, are classified as Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs).
In addition to these GOCC hospitals, several medical facilities are managed by local government units, further complicating the health care system’s funding and operational structure.
Domingo pointed out that even facilities like the Philippine General Hospital, Veterans Memorial Medical Center, and the Philippine Children’s Medical Center have separate budgets and management systems distinct from DOH hospitals.
“That complexity is one reason why balance billing continues, because different hospitals get different budgets from different government entities,” he said.
Domingo also said that misperceptions about the program stem from prior policies that were inconsistently enforced.
“Let’s be real about what’s actually happening. We know that some hospitals used to claim medicines were out of stock and asked patients to buy from the pharmacy across the street, owned by the doctor himself,” he lamented.
“Some doctors would also say, “We’ll just meet in the clinic later,” and charge professional fees off the record, without receipts,” Domingo added.
The assistant secretary added that such practices are being corrected, and the goal now is for patients to deal only with the hospital, without the need to visit external clinics or pharmacies.
According to Domingo, 87 hospitals directly under the DOH across the country will be the initial beneficiaries of the zero-balance billing program.
“Initially, we discussed piloting the program in one hospital per region, but Malacañang challenged us to dream bigger,” he said.
Addressing misconceptions, he said wards in modern DOH hospitals are clean and air-conditioned, as observed during recent inspections conducted with Health Secretary Ted Herbosa.
“We’re changing the old mindset that government hospitals mean poor quality. That’s not true anymore,” he said.
He then urged the public to request basic accommodation when seeking care in DOH hospitals to avail themselves of the full benefits of the program.
If a patient requests private amenities, such requests would not be covered under the zero-balance billing system, as those fall under elective services.
Professional fees for doctors are also included in the coverage for basic accommodations, removing the need for patients to pay out of pocket for consultations or procedures performed in those settings.
Domingo clarified that guarantee letters from politicians should no longer be necessary, referencing a Supreme Court ruling that prohibits post-enactment interference in the disbursement of approved government budgets.
“Once the national budget is approved and being implemented, there should be no more letter-writing or political endorsements. Services should be delivered automatically. That’s the very essence of ‘your hospital bill is already paid,'” he concluded.
Below is the full list of hospitals implementing the zero-balance billing policy:
LUZON
Metro Manila (NCR)
1. Amang Rodriguez Medical Center
2. East Avenue Medical Center
3. Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital
4. Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center
5. National Center for Mental Health
6. National Children’s Hospital
7. Philippine Orthopedic Center
8. Quirino Memorial Medical Center
9. Research Institute for Tropical Medicine
10. Rizal Medical Center
11. San Lazaro Hospital
12. Tondo Medical Center
13. Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Sanitarium
14. Las Piñas General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center
15. San Lorenzo Ruiz General Hospital
16. Valenzuela Medical Center
Region I – Ilocos
17. Conrado F. Estrella Regional Medical and Trauma Center
18. Ilocos Sur Medical Center
19. Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center
20. Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center
21. Region 1 Medical Center
CAR – Cordillera Administrative Region
22. Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center
23. Conner District Hospital
24. Far North Luzon General Hospital and Training Center
25. Luis Hora Memorial Regional Hospital
Region II – Cagayan Valley
26. Batanes General Hospital
27. Cagayan Valley Medical Center
28. Northwestern Cagayan General Hospital
29. Region II Trauma and Medical Center
30. Southern Isabela Medical Center
Region III – Central Luzon
31. Bataan General Hospital and Medical Center
32. Dr. Paulino J. Garcia Memorial Research and Medical Center
33. Joni Villanueva General Hospital
34. Jose B. Lingad Memorial General Hospital
35. Mariveles Mental Wellness and General Hospital
36. Talavera General Hospital
Region IV-A – CALABARZON
37. Batangas Medical Center
38. Maria L. Eleazar General Hospital
39. Southern Tagalog Regional Hospital
Region IV-B – MIMAROPA
40. Culion Sanitarium and General Hospital
41. Ospital ng Palawan
Region V – Bicol Region
42. Bicol Medical Center
43. Bicol Region General Hospital and Geriatric Medical Center
44. Bicol Regional Hospital and Medical Center
VISAYAS
Region VI – Western Visayas
45. Don Jose S. Monfort Medical Center
46. Western Visayas Medical Center
47. Western Visayas Sanitarium and General Hospital
Region VII – Central Visayas
48. Don Emilio del Valle Memorial Hospital
49. Eversley Child Sanitarium and General Hospital
50. Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Medical Center
51. St. Anthony Mother and Child Hospital
52. Cebu South Medical Center
53. Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center
Region VIII – Eastern Visayas
54. Eastern Visayas Medical Center
55. Governor Benjamin T. Romualdez General Hospital and Schistosomiasis Center
Negros Island Region
56. Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital
MINDANAO
Region IX – Zamboanga Peninsula
57. Basilan Medical Center
58. Dr. Jose Rizal Memorial Hospital
59. Labuan General Hospital
60. Margosatubig Regional Hospital
61. Zamboanga Regional Medical Center
62. Sulu Sanitarium and General Hospital
63. Zamboanga City Medical Center
Region X – Northern Mindanao
64. Amai Pakpak Medical Center
65. Camiguin General Hospital
66. Mayor Hilarion A. Ramiro Sr. Medical Center
67. Northeastern Misamis General Hospital
68. Northern Mindanao Medical Center
69. First Misamis Oriental General Hospital
Region XI – Davao Region
70. Davao Occidental General Hospital
71. Davao Regional Medical Center
72. Southern Philippines Medical Center
Region XII – SOCCSKSARGEN
73. Cotabato Regional and Medical Center
74. Cotabato Sanitarium and General Hospital
75. SOCCSKSARGEN General Hospital
Region XIII – Caraga
76. Adela Serra Ty Memorial Medical Center
77. Caraga Regional Hospital
78. Siargao Island Medical Center
GOVERNMENT-OWNED AND CONTROLLED CORPORATIONS (GOCC)
79. Lung Center of the Philippines
80. National Kidney and Transplant Institute
81. Philippine Children’s Medical Center
82. Philippine Heart Center
