Balanga City, Bataan — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visited Bataan General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) on Tuesday to inspect the implementation of the “zero balance billing” system, which is part of his administration’s goal of fully enacting the Universal Health Care Act.

Marcos was accompanied by Department of Health (DoH) Secretary Ted Herbosa and other health officials. Bataan Governor Jose Enrique Garcia III said the president wanted to see the program’s implementation firsthand.

Marcos said he was pleased to see that patients at BGHMC no longer have to wait in line to process their hospital bills.

“When a patient is about to be discharged, the zero balance billing is delivered to them,” he said, noting the added convenience. “This is another added convenience that I think we should adopt.”

The zero balance billing system, along with an enhanced “Patient Assist” program at BGHMC, streamlines the process of submitting PhilHealth requirements.

It delivers a Statement of Account directly to the patient’s bedside, where they or a guardian only need to sign to acknowledge expenses and PhilHealth’s coverage.

Marcos said the system’s nationwide implementation is at 80 percent, moving the country closer to achieving universal health care.

“My aspiration, of course, is to achieve the dream of universal health care for all our people,” said the President. “It’s just a question of building up the economy so we can afford it and putting industries, the systems are all in place.”

After visiting the hospital, Marcos also toured the 1Bataan Bagong Pilipinas Integrated Action Center, a one-stop-shop for medical and financial assistance for Bataan residents.

The center, located within the provincial capitol compound, is a collaboration between the provincial government, several congressmen and the Malasakit Center, a project by Senator Christopher “Bong” Go.

The President’s visit was unannounced, catching local reporters off guard. The only indication of his arrival was an unusual number of police and government security forces deployed around the provincial capitol.

Meantime, the President said that the implementation of the Universal Health Care (UHC) would be fully implemented soon especially with the application of zero balance billing in hospitals.

“I’m very happy that we are instituting this program. I think it’s been a long time coming and I’m glad, We are really close to reaching Universal Health Care. We are 80 percent of the way, just a little bit more and we’ll be able to achieve Universal Health Care,” said the President.

“It’s up to DoH and all our health workers to pick up the pace because those who used to hesitate before going to the hospital, before getting checked out, before getting treatment are really hesitant because they think it’s too expensive and they will pay a lot and they can’t afford the costs of medicine, for example, for tests. And that’s not a problem now,” Marcos said.