One-time interest waiver covers 2013-2024 missed payments
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to implement a general amnesty and a one-time interest waiver this year to help employers and self-employed members settle unpaid contributions.
Mr. Marcos said the program is projected to benefit about 300,000 members of the national health insurer.
“We know that the three percent paid for PhilHealth is something our fellow Filipinos really feel every month,” he said in a video message posted on his social media accounts yesterday.
The amnesty would cover businesses, private employers, and self-employed Filipinos with missed payments from 2013 to 2024.
He said the initiative is part of the government’s efforts to ease healthcare costs and challenges faced by Filipinos.
“That is why we continue to do this to alleviate the burden of our country’s health care costs,” Mr. Marcos said.
The President also urged employers to update their records and register their workers under PhilHealth’s “Yaman ng Kalusugan” or YAKAP program to ensure coverage and accurate enrollment.
Earlier, PhilHealth also reminded eligible members that the annual P20,000 Guaranteed Medicines Access Program (GAMOT) benefit applies per calendar year.
“Any unused GAMOT benefit from the previous year will not be carried over to the current year,” PhilHealth said.
Members and dependents are encouraged to maximize the benefit within the year to help reduce out-of-pocket expenses for essential medicines.
PhilHealth also reminded its partner health care providers for calendar year 2026 that the deadline for the submission of applications for the accreditation renewal has been extended until Jan. 14.
Aside from PhilHealth initiatives, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa on Wednesday said the implementation of the zero balance billing (ZBB) program in government hospitals has eliminated the need for patients to seek guarantee letters from politicians.
Herbosa said ZBB was designed to remove political gatekeeping in access to medical care.
“There are no more guarantee letters because there is now zero balance billing. The reason we put up zero balance billing is so patients no longer have to go through politicians,” he said.
He said patients can now directly go to Department of Health hospitals and receive treatment without paying anything or seeking endorsements from elected officials.
Herbosa said Section 19 of the 2026 General Appropriations Act explicitly prohibits political involvement in the distribution of cash and financial medical assistance.
“This is what they call the ‘anti-epal’ provision,” the Health chief said.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline: “PBBM orders amnesty, waives interest for unpaid PhilHealth dues”
