Four specialty hospitals will each receive an additional P1 billion allocation from the 2026 national budget, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Saturday.

The hospitals are government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs): the Lung Center of the Philippines, the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, the Philippine Children’s Medical Center, and the Philippine Heart Center.

These GOCC hospitals operate with a bed capacity composed of 70 percent private beds and 30 percent public beds.

The health sector ranks third in the national budget, with P448.1 billion enacted on January 5. The DOH said the additional funding will be used to expand the Zero Balance Billing (ZBB) program, which President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. highlighted during his State of the Nation Address in July 2025.

Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said the allocation will help strengthen the Universal Health Care system under Republic Act No. 11223.

The ZBB program was already implemented last year in select DOH hospitals, benefiting more than one million patients.