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 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 goal has two components: in government hospitals, there should be no additional payment beyond what PhilHealth covers, while in private hospitals under PhilHealth contract, the cost should be predictable enough that patients know in advance what they will pay.
“Klaro talaga sa amin ni Doc Ed (Health Secretary Edwin Mercado) and the whole health sector na gusto namin hindi kabahan yung tao ‘pag pumasok siya sa hospital. Ibig sabihin, kung pumasok ka sa government hospital, we can assure you na wala kang dagdag bayad,” Ho said.
She said that for private hospitals, the target is a model where a patient can be told in advance the total cost of a procedure, with PhilHealth covering a known portion and the patient’s share fixed and predictable rather than subject to surprise billing.
“Pero kung pumasok ka sa private hospitals which PhilHealth has kontrata, then masasabi namin na predictable yung babayaran. Hindi ka mabi-bill shock, kumbaga. Alam mo na ‘pag magpapatanggal ako ng bato, plus 20,000 PhilHealth, plus 20,000. We think that’s doable by 2028,” Ho said.
She said the surge in PhilHealth payouts—from ₱83 billion in 2023 to a projected ₱420 billion this year—and the fall in out-of-pocket spending from 55% to 41% demonstrate that the system is already moving in the right direction toward this 2028 goal.
Health Secretary Edwin Mercado said the elimination of bill shock requires not just better PhilHealth coverage but also better hospital operations, including faster patient turnaround, stronger referral networks, and clearer pricing that patients can understand before they agree to treatment.
