PhilHealth Gamot Program Faces Access Gaps; Expansion Efforts Underway

Only 52% of local government units (LGUs) currently have accredited providers under PhilHealth’s Gamot Program, highlighting continuing gaps in access to medicines, particularly for patients in areas far from hospitals and pharmacies. PhilHealth president and CEO Beverly Lorraine Ho disclosed the figure during the Senate Finance Committee’s briefing on the Department of Health’s proposed 2027 budget on Friday. The Gamot Program had 2,984 accredited providers as of August 2026—2,472 private pharmacies and 512 government pharmacies—and had served around 788,000 patients, Ho said. “52% lang po ng LGUs currently yung may accredited gamot providers. So this is something that we will really work hard on po,” she said. PhilHealth eyes wider pharmacy network Senator Joel Villanueva questioned whether Gamot providers were concentrated mainly in urban areas, saying patients in communities outside major cities still have to travel to access the program. He cited complaints from constituents who had to spend additional money on transportation just to reach an accredited provider. Villanueva asked PhilHealth to provide its target for expanding the network, particularly in rural, underserved, and remote areas. Ho said PhilHealth aims to expand the number of participating pharmacies to around 20,000. The current network, however, remains far below that target, with only 2,984 providers as of August. Nearly 788,000 patients served Ho said the Gamot Program was still in its pilot stage in 2025 but had expanded in 2026. “As of this August, we already have 2,984 providers, so that would be our pharmacies po, of which 2,472 are private and 512 are government, and we’ve served around 788,000 patients already,” she said. Ho noted that PhilHealth also plans to expand the medicines covered by the program. She added that 21 medicines currently under the YAKAP program are planned to be moved to Gamot to make them more accessible to patients, while the Gamot medicine list is expected to expand from 54 to around 120 medicines. DOH eyes different way of distributing medicines Meanwhile, Acting Health Secretary Edwin Mercado said the DOH is also considering changes to how medicines are procured and distributed, partly to address the recurring problem of expired stocks. One proposal is to redirect some of the DOH’s budget for medicines and commodities into additional subsidies for PhilHealth, allowing patients to access medicines through accredited providers rather than relying as heavily on centralized government stockpiles. “Isa rin namang plano ng DOH, kanina nga po napag-usapan yung expired meds at yung hirap, mga expired meds po at yung pagbaba galing sa central warehouse,” he noted. Mercado said about 40% of medicines are currently procured centrally, while around 60%, particularly common essential medicines available locally, are procured through the DOH’s Centers for Health Development. He also explained that expanding the Gamot Program could encourage more pharmacies to participate as they see PhilHealth paying providers on time. The DOH and PhilHealth said they intend to continue expanding the program to improve access to medicines, particularly for Filipinos who have limited access to hospitals and pharmacies. —LDF, GMA News