Nation
Politics, governance and communities across the Philippines.
Nation Page 10 of 60
DOH chief to create dedicated hospital operations cluster, says it needs its own management team
Health Secretary Edwin Mercado said the Department of Health (DOH) will create a separate dedicated cluster for hospital operations, removing it from the Center for Health Development regional offices that currently oversee both hospitals and primary care programs. Mercado stressed this necessary…
PhilHealth chief: private pharmacies run 80% of Gamot network because supply chain is their expertise
Eight out of ten pharmacies accredited under PhilHealth’s Gamot medicine program are private businesses rather than government pharmacies—a deliberate design choice driven by the recognition that private pharmacies have the supply chain expertise to ensure medicines are reliably available when…
LGUs can now use Special Health Fund to hire medical workers, a first under Marcos administration
Local government units can now use the Special Health Fund—the pool of PhilHealth payments they receive for health services—to hire doctors, nurses, and other medical workers, a critical new provision that Health Secretary Edwin Mercado said Saturday will help address the country’s chronic…
Marcos admin builds 100+ specialty centers for cardiac, cancer, stroke care inside existing hospitals
The Marcos administration has built more than 100 specialty centers for cardiac, cancer, stroke, trauma, burn, and brain care—all co-located inside existing hospitals rather than built as standalone facilities—expanding access to specialized medical care across the country without requiring the…
PhilHealth chief vows no more surprise hospital bills for Filipinos by 2028
PhilHealth President and CEO Beverly Ho said Saturday that the clearest measure of success for the health sector by the end of the Marcos administration in 2028 is simple: no Filipino should fear entering a hospital because they do not know how much it will cost them. Ho made the statement in an…
PhilHealth payouts surge from ₱83B in 2023 to ₱420B target in 2026 as out-of-pocket costs fall
PhilHealth benefit payouts have surged from ₱83 billion in 2023 to ₱330 billion in 2025 and are on track to reach ₱420 billion this year, as the expansion of the Yakap primary care program and the Gamot medicine benefit drives more Filipinos to use their PhilHealth coverage, the state-run social…
PhilHealth adds 54 medicines to Gamot program, bringing total to 75 with ₱20,000 annual e-wallet credit
The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) has expanded its GAMOT medicine program from the original 21 medicines under the Konsulta program to 75 total, after adding 54 new medicines last year under the leadership of then-PhilHealth President and CEO Edwin Mercado, now the Secretary…
Telemedicine and roving teams to bring healthcare to PH’s most isolated communities, says new DOH chief
The Department of Health (DOH) will use telemedicine and roving health teams rather than fixed clinics to bring healthcare to geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas, acknowledging that brick-and-mortar health facilities are not always feasible in island communities and remote barangays…
PhilHealth’s Gamot program ends era of patients buying only three-day medicine supply
The Gamot program launched by PhilHealth under the leadership of then-President and CEO Edwin Mercado has ended the common practice of patients with chronic conditions buying only three days’ worth of maintenance medicines at a time because they could not afford a full month’s supply, PhilHealth…
Cancer screening now a PhilHealth Yakap program benefit, covering mammography, low-dose CT scan, colonoscopy
Mammography, low-dose chest CT scan for lung cancer screening, and colonoscopy are now covered free of charge under PhilHealth’s Yakap program, making cancer screening accessible to every Filipino enrolled in primary care for the first time, PhilHealth President and CEO Beverly Ho said Saturday.…
Marcos administration ends era of ‘doctorless’ municipalities in the Philippines: DOH exec
Every municipality in the Philippines now has a doctor, ending decades of doctorless towns that left millions of rural Filipinos without access to basic medical care, Health Undersecretary Gloria Balboa said Saturday. Balboa made the statement in an interview on DZRH News program Special on…
Yakap clinics surge from 119 to over 4,000, now reaching 96% of Philippine cities and municipalities
The number of Yakap primary care clinics has surged from just 119 before the Marcos administration to more than 4,000 today, with the program now reaching 96% of all Philippine cities and municipalities, newly appointed Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) President and CEO Beverly…
New Health chief says PH must address heart disease, HIV, and mental health all at once under triple disease burden
The Philippines faces a unique triple burden of disease that requires the health system to simultaneously address lifestyle illnesses, lingering infectious diseases, and modern-society conditions including mental health problems, newly appointed Health Secretary Edwin Mercado said Saturday.…
New Health chief says DOH, PhilHealth to operate under ‘Unified National Agenda’ or UNA for Health
Newly appointed Health Secretary Edwin Mercado revealed Saturday that the Department of Health (DOH) and Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) will no longer operate as two separate agencies but will merge their roadmaps under a single Unified National Agenda for Health, or UNA…
Severe tropical storm ‘Saudel’ may enter PAR either Sunday or Monday
A severe tropical storm outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), internationally named “Saudel,” is expected to enter the country’s monitoring area by Sunday or Monday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said. In its 10:00 a.m.…