Gatchalian bats for realignment of ₱49-B fund to fortify ZBB program

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is pushing to realign the government’s ₱49-billion medical assistance fund for indigent patients to bolster the zero-balance billing (ZBB) program, a key initiative aimed at ensuring equitable hospital care for all Filipinos.

Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate Committee on Finance, said health care access should not depend on politicians’ discretion. He urged that part of the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) fund be redirected to expand the ZBB program, which guarantees that poor patients will not have to pay out of pocket for confinement in government hospitals.

“It pains me to see some people, our constituents, queuing in the offices of politicians. We are putting the decision-making power on life and death in the hands of politicians, which is not right because the system should help our constituents,” Gatchalian said.

He added that strengthening the ZBB program and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) should make hospital care more equitable and shield patients from financial hardship.

“We should put the MAIFIP in the zero-balance billing program. We should reform our Universal Health Care system to ensure access to quality health services for all Filipinos without financial burden,” he stressed.

However, Gatchalian cautioned that the government must also expand the bed capacity of public hospitals, warning that occupancy rates could surge once the zero-balance billing program is fully implemented. TRACY CABRERA