The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) and healthcare facilities across Caraga Region signed a memorandum of agreement Thursday to strengthen the implementation of the No Balance Billing policy and improve access to health services for members and beneficiaries.
PhilHealth Acting President and Chief Executive Officer Beverly Lorraine Ho and PhilHealth-13 Regional Vice President Michael Jibson Hernandez led the MOA signing with heads of participating medical facilities.
The agreement is expected to bolster the implementation of the five pillars of PhilHealth’s programs and services in the region, particularly those directly benefiting members and patients.
In her message, Ho underscored the importance of PhilHealth’s partnership with healthcare providers in ensuring that members actually receive the benefits available to them.
“Thank you to our health care providers because our benefits will continue to be benefits on paper if you are not there to deliver our services to our patients,” Ho said.
She also highlighted what she described as significant improvements in the benefits PhilHealth has provided to its members and beneficiaries over the past three years, particularly in coverage and the speed of payments to healthcare providers.
“Our health care providers felt the Universal Health Care (UHC). The challenge for us now is to ensure that the UHC services are translated and felt by our patients,” Ho said.
Hernandez, meanwhile, presented PhilHealth-13’s accomplishments in delivering the agency’s five pillars of programs and services in the region.
The five pillars are healthy schools, workplaces and communities; a functional primary care system; quality and efficient hospitals; information technology transformation; and strong institutions and the health sector.
As of September, PhilHealth-13 had released PHP5.05 billion in inpatient benefit payments to 51 accredited health facilities across the region.
“The amount is 124 percent higher compared to the PHP4.05 billion in-patient benefit payment made in September 2025,” Hernandez said.
He added that the region’s 51 accredited health facilities have a combined bed capacity of 2,275, helping ensure that beneficiaries can access PhilHealth programs and services.
During the same period, PhilHealth-13 recorded PHP21.7 million in utilization under the Guaranteed Accessible Medications for Outpatient Treatment (GAMOT) program, with 107 facilities registered across the region.
The MOA signing was witnessed by representatives of the Department of Health, Department of Education and Department of Labor and Employment, as well as officials of the Butuan City government led by Mayor Lawrence Lemuel Fortun. (PNA)
