The Senate has allocated P62.6 billion to strengthen the Department of Health's Zero Balance Billing (ZBB) Program next year. According to Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, approximately 18 million Filipinos will benefit from the increased funding.
In the original bill, only P53.3 billion was allocated for ZBB and was expected to be sufficient for 16 million patients in DOH-run hospitals. The Senate added P9.3 billion to the hospitals' budget to further expand the service coverage of two million patients.
The ZBB program covers all expenses of a patient admitted to basic or ward accommodation, including room charges, laboratory tests, professional fees, and other fees—regardless of the patient's life status.
According to Gatchalian, the additional funding for Zero Balance Billing is a step to maintain safer and healthier communities.
The Senate also allocated P1 billion to each specialty hospital to further strengthen the implementation of ZBB. These include the Lung Center of the Philippines, Philippine Heart Center, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, and Philippine Children’s Medical Center.