PhilHealth expands benefits as private hospitals join push

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PhilHealth said its expanded benefit packages are reducing out-of-pocket health expenses for millions of Filipinos, as private hospitals move to support broader access to care.

In Press Release No. 2026-15 dated May 18, 2026, the state health insurer said President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and PhilHealth President and CEO Dr. Edwin M. Mercado visited two leading private hospitals over the past two weeks to assess how expanded benefits are being used by patients.

On May 1, Marcos and Mercado visited St. Elizabeth Hospital Inc., where PhilHealth members were using expanded health care packages covering YAKAP primary care consultations, cancer treatment services, and life-sustaining dialysis care.

PhilHealth said the visit showed how stronger benefits allow patients to seek essential treatment earlier while protecting families from the financial burden of illness.

On May 11, Marcos visited The Medical City in Ortigas to inspect the newly opened Alfredo R.A. Bengzon Patient Access Ward.

The 51-bed facility was designed to provide world-class health care services to PhilHealth members with little to no out-of-pocket expenses.

The ward includes nine mother-and-baby-friendly rooms, which PhilHealth described as an example of how private hospitals can help advance accessible, high-quality health care.

Patients and their families shared how expanded PhilHealth coverage helped protect them from catastrophic medical expenses and allowed them to focus on recovery rather than financial hardship.

“The question is not capability, but will—the will to look at every PhilHealth member and say, ‘You belong here, too.’” said Dr. Mercado. “Decades from now, no one will ask how many private suites a hospital had. They will ask how many lives were saved and changed.”

PhilHealth said it is urging more private hospitals, specialty centers, and clinics nationwide to join its effort to make quality health care accessible to every Filipino.

The agency said it is ready to support health care facilities seeking accreditation across its growing range of benefit packages, including primary care, outpatient emergency services, inpatient care, maternity services, dialysis, cancer care, and treatment of catastrophic illnesses under the Z Benefits Program.

PhilHealth’s YAKAP, or Yaman ng Kalusugan Program, is intended to help Filipinos maintain their health, detect illnesses early, receive needed medicines, and avoid hospitalization through accredited primary care clinics.

Health care institutions interested in partnering with PhilHealth may visit the PhilHealth official website or coordinate with the nearest PhilHealth Local Health Insurance Office.