By Sarwell Meniano
TACLOBAN CITY – It’s a big sigh of relief for families of patients confined at the Eastern Visayas Medical Center (EVMC), knowing they do not have to shoulder out-of-pocket expenses upon the discharge of their loved ones under the Zero Balance Billing (ZBB) program.
Maryjoy Mercader, 26, of Barangay Pawa, Burauen, Leyte, has been at the hospital for three weeks as one of the watchers of four family members — her father, mother, brother, and niece — who were injured in a motorcycle accident on Sept. 5.
Three of her family members have already been discharged from the EVMC, while her father, Diorico, remains confined at the regional hospital while recovering from a leg amputation.
“The total hospital bill for our three patients was PHP104,000. We could not afford to pay that amount since coconut farming is our main source of income. We are grateful that we did not pay a single centavo upon their discharge,” Maryjoy told the Philippine News Agency on Wednesday.
She said their meager income has instead been spent on food and other basic needs for the watchers. Their village is about 49 kilometers north of the hospital.
Another ZBB beneficiary is Redgie Casaljay, 27, a farmer from Barangay 4 in Gandara, a town in Samar located 146 kilometers from this city. He has been confined at the EVMC due to complications from severe hypokalemia, or low potassium levels.
“We have been here for one month already. I was surprised that we did not have to pay anything upon discharge,” Redgie’s younger brother, Roy, said in an interview Wednesday.
Roy said their monthly income of PHP4,000 to PHP5,000 from coconut harvesting is not enough to cover a hospital bill of nearly PHP100,000.
Dr. Jenny Lind Lesiguez, EVMC chief of medical professional staff, said the program has been benefiting an average of 100 patients discharged from the hospital each day.
ZBB has been implemented in the region following President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address on July 28, 2025.
Beneficiaries include outpatients, patients admitted through the emergency room, and those confined in basic accommodations at the region’s tertiary hospital in this city.
Under the Universal Health Care Act, basic or ward accommodation refers to “the provision of regular meals, a bed in a shared room, fan ventilation, and shared toilet and bath.”
The EVMC has spent PHP1.08 billion for the Zero Balance Billing program, benefiting 103,818 patients in the region since August 2025.
