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 President and CEO Beverly Ho said Saturday.
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 and PhilHealth.
The PhilHealth chief said the Gamot program covers maintenance medicines for hypertension, diabetes, and other chronic conditions, giving enrolled patients a full 30-day supply every month that they can refill regularly at any of nearly 4,000 accredited Yakap-Gamot pharmacies.
“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 the significance of consistent medicine access goes beyond convenience — when patients with hypertension and diabetes take their medicines regularly, they are far less likely to develop complications like kidney disease, stroke, or heart attack, reducing both suffering and the cost of more serious treatment later.
“I think that’s very significant kasi kapag well-controlled yung high blood mo at diabetes mo, hindi ‘yun magpo-proceed to kidney disease or to stroke or to heart attack,” Ho said.
