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MANILA, Philippines \u2014 PhilHealth members will soon have access to 75 types of medicines for free at select clinics and pharmacies, with a limit of P20,000 per year, under the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.\u2019s (PhilHealth)<\/a>\u00a0new Guaranteed and Accessible Medications for Outpatient Treatment (Gamot) package.<\/p>\n Launched on Thursday, PhilHealth Gamot expands on the initial 21 free medicines under the Konsultasyong Sulit Tama or Konsulta, benefits package with an additional 54, and will take effect on Aug. 21 based on PhilHealth Circular No. 2025-0013.<\/p>\n \u201cBased on our data, one of the biggest out-of-pocket spending of our countrymen is what we call medical goods\u2014the medicines and items that we pay for outside the hospital. That\u2019s why we see that this is the first thing we should address,\u201d PhilHealth President and CEO Edwin Mercado said during the launch.<\/p>\n READ: \u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018Common treatments\u2019<\/p>\n PhilHealth free meds include \u201ccommon treatments\u201d for a wide range of conditions, such as infections, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and heart conditions, nervous system disorders, and other supportive therapies.<\/p>\n The entire list of PhilHealth free meds is included in the PhilHealth circular, which can be accessed through the link https:\/\/www.philhealth.gov.ph\/circulars\/2025\/PC2025-0013.pdf.<\/p>\n \u201cThis program is not just about providing medicines. It\u2019s about having peace of mind to families, strength to breadwinners, and hope to patients who thought they had none. This is a big help, especially to the ordinary middle-class worker,\u201d Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said at the event.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, the medicine that I take\u2026[it costs] P5,000 a month. I just bought [my medicine] last month, it got raised to P7,500. Pharmacies had increased their prices. I think all the medicines are also increasing. But with the P20,000 package, that will be a big help,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Where to go<\/p>\n To avail of the new Gamot package, one must first register as a beneficiary of the PhilHealth\u2019s Yaman ng Kalusugan Program para Malayo sa Sakit (Yakap), which can be done through the eGovPH app, the PhilHealth member online portal, at PhilHealth offices, or through other channels.<\/p>\n Beneficiaries must then get a prescription from a Yakap or PhilHealth-accredited physician before they can avail themselves of the PhilHealth free meds at any Gamot facility. They only need to present any government-issued ID, alongside the doctor\u2019s prescription, at the clinic.<\/p>\n According to Mercado, there are around 4,300 Gamot partner clinics for the new benefit. For those in Metro Manila, they may also go to Gamot partner pharmacies.<\/p>\n \u201cAs for the pharmacies, since we had just launched [the program], they are only located in Metro Manila for now. So, just give us some time because every day we are able to add more,\u201d Mercado said.<\/p>\n Prevention, maintenance<\/p>\n Herbosa said the new benefit package signaled a \u201cparadigm shift\u201d for PhilHealth as it sought to focus on prevention and primary care, making sure members would have maintenance medicines within easier reach, reducing dependence on expensive tertiary care.<\/p>\n \u201cSecondary prevention is taking your chronic meds. If you have hypertension, then it would not lead to stroke. If you are diabetic and you are taking your diabetic meds, you would not have diabetic nephropathy, which leads to dialysis,\u201d Herbosa said.<\/p>\n
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