The situation, in brief
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…
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 Ho said Saturday.
Ho made the disclosure in an interview on DZRH News program Special on Saturday on August 22, as part of the DZRH SONA 2026 Series featuring the Department of Health (DOH) and PhilHealth.
She said the Yakap program assigns every Filipino a primary care gatekeeper doctor who manages their overall health, provides unlimited free consultations, orders medically indicated laboratory tests, prescribes maintenance medicines, and refers patients for cancer screening—all at no cost to the member.
“More than 3,000. Almost 96% na po ng kabuuang mga bayan at siyudad ay may Yakap clinic na,” Ho said, confirming that at least one Yakap-accredited clinic is now accessible to the vast majority of Filipinos regardless of where they live.
She said the Yakap program covers unlimited consultations—meaning a Filipino can visit their assigned Yakap provider any number of times throughout the year without paying—as well as medically indicated laboratory tests including X-ray and CBC, and 21 maintenance medicines available at accredited Yakap-Gamot pharmacies.
Cancer screening services are also part of the Yakap package, with mammography, low-dose chest CT scan for potential lung cancer, and colonoscopy all covered based on a risk factor assessment by the Yakap provider.
Ho said the Gamot program, launched under the leadership of Secretary Mercado during his time as PhilHealth president, has transformed how patients with chronic conditions access their medicines, replacing the previous practice of buying only three days’ worth of medicines at a time with a full 30-day monthly supply.
“Yung dating mga pasyente na bibili ng pang-high blood ng tatlong araw kasi wala na silang pera, tsaka na lang sila ulit bibili, ngayon buong 30 days nung buong buwan kaya na nilang makuha at kayang ma-refill every month,” Ho said.
She said Filipinos can register for Yakap through the eGov app, the PhilHealth membership portal, or by visiting any Local Health Insurance Office branch, and that health centers in their area—which are already partners of PhilHealth—are often the easiest starting point for enrollment.
Ho said the biggest remaining challenge is encouraging more providers, particularly in areas with limited healthcare infrastructure, to sign up for the program, so that every Filipino who wants to be embraced by Yakap has somewhere to go.
