The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) has secured fresh partnerships with private hospitals nationwide to roll out expanded healthcare packages aimed at shielding Filipinos from catastrophic medical expenses.
PhilHealth President and CEO Dr. Edwin Mercado spearheaded a site inspection on May 11 at The Medical City to assess the newly opened Alfredo Bengzon Patient Access Ward. The 51-bed facility—which features nine mother-and-baby-friendly rooms—is designed to deliver world-class medical services to PhilHealth members with little to no out-of-pocket costs, serving as a model for private sector collaboration in public health.
The initiative follows a May 1 presentation to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at St. Elizabeth Hospital, Inc. in General Santos City, where Mercado showcased the agency’s enhanced benefits.
These packages include YAKAP primary care consultations, expanded cancer treatments, and life-sustaining dialysis care, all structured to encourage early medical intervention and mitigate family financial strain.
During the inspections, patients and families expressed how the enhanced coverage effectively protected them from severe financial hardship, allowing them to focus entirely on recovery.
Mercado emphasized that the success of universal healthcare relies on institutional commitment to inclusivity rather than mere capacity.
“The question is not capability, but will—the will to look at every PhilHealth member and say, ‘You belong here, too.’” Mercado said.
“Decades from now, no one will ask how many private suites a hospital had. They will ask how many lives were saved and changed,” he added.
In a bid to scale the program, PhilHealth is urging more private hospitals, specialty centers, and clinics across the country to secure accreditation. The state insurer expressed readiness to assist institutions looking to integrate its growing roster of benefit packages, which cover primary care, outpatient emergency services, inpatient care, maternity services, dialysis, cancer care, and complex treatments under the Z Benefits Program.
Interested healthcare providers can initiate partnership coordinates through the PhilHealth Official Website or by visiting their nearest PhilHealth Local Health Insurance Office.