Heal PH partylist pushes for health card program

National

IN A country where getting sick often means going broke, party-list group Heal PH wants to level the playing field, starting with a health card in every Filipino’s pocket.

Central to Heal PH’s platform is a proposed health card program for low-income families, which aims to provide free access to essential medical services and specialized treatments.

The group envisions a system where, at the point of care, no Filipino hesitates to seek medical attention due to cost.

During the MyTV Cebu Openline News Media Forum on Tuesday, April 15, Heal PH Partylist introduced the Heal PH guaranteed Health Card.

This proposed alternative to PhilHealth that seeks to eliminate out-of-pocket medical expenses and deliver comprehensive, unlimited coverage, especially for vulnerable sectors.

Dr. Eric Tayag, first nominee of Heal PH and known nationally as the "Dancing Doctor" for creatively using dance to raise health awareness, said the initiative would be pushed through legislation.

“The health card is positioned without out-of-pocket cost. That’s why we can expect unlimited medical services," he said.

Tayag retired in April after 35 years with the Department of Health (DOH), where he served as Director IV of the Bureau of Local Health Systems Development and the National Epidemiology Center.

Reflecting on decades of public service, Tayag said the card would help plug the massive funding gap in Philippine healthcare.

He pointed out that the country’s total health expenditure has reached P1.4 trillion, with only half of that covered by government and private contributions.

“That means the remaining P700 billion comes from the people’s pockets,” he said, adding that low-income

Filipinos often avoid clinics and hospitals even when showing symptoms, simply because they fear the costs.

“When you go to a hospital, you should know what you’re paying for. And if you’re sick, you shouldn’t be deciding whether to go or not based on money,” he stressed.

The health official said Heal PH aims to expand the card’s usability from public hospitals to private institutions within five years.

Tayag also emphasized that it would offer transparent billing and easy access to basic services like consultations and medicines.

Second nominee Retired General Benito Antonio de Leon, who served in government for 44 years, highlighted the urgency of addressing healthcare disparities in far-flung areas.

He said families in remote communities often travel from Mindanao to Quezon City just to receive medical care, underscoring the need for a more inclusive system.

“Even if the hospital is far, people will go just to avail of free care,” de Leon said, adding that such long journeys expose the deep inequities in healthcare access across the country.

Third nominee Dr. Andrew Jimenez echoed the concern, citing gaps between infrastructure and personnel in rural health centers.

“In the places I visited, they had equipment, but no trained personnel to handle it,” he said.

Jimenez emphasized that investing in human resources is as critical as upgrading facilities. Heal PH proposes standardizing wages based on skills and experience to improve healthcare worker retention in underserved areas.

The party-list described the health card initiative as a practical solution to a long-standing national crisis.

It is banking on voter support to bring its advocacy to Congress and ensure that no Filipino suffers, or dies, simply because they couldn’t afford to get well.(MyTVCebu)