PhilHealth, SSS extend help, services to quake-hit victims

Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) recently announced the granting of provisional contracting for Z Benefits covering selected orthopedic implants, following the devastating magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck Cebu and nearby provinces on September 30, 2025.

- - Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/JG

This initiative is aligned with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., who instructed government agencies to immediately mobilize and extend assistance to the victims of the calamity.

With only one accredited health facility in Cebu (Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center) currently authorized to provide Z Benefit packages for orthopedic implants, the PhilHealth Board approved and authorized Acting President and CEO, Dr. Edwin M. Mercado, to effect eased policy restrictions to ensure wider access to lifesaving orthopedic services for injured patients.

Dr. Mercado, an orthopedic surgeon by training, has tapped the support of the Philippine Orthopedic Association and his fellow professionals to extend critical assistance to victims requiring surgical procedures.

“This is not just a matter of policy, but of timely action to save lives and limbs. By easing policy restrictions, we are ensuring that those injured in this calamity receive the proper treatment without delay or undue cost,” Dr. Mercado said in a statement released by PhilHealth.

Under the provisional policy, effective September 30, 2025 until the lifting of the declared state of calamity, the following measures shall apply:

1. Expanded Access: Health care institutions in Cebu are granted provisional accreditation to claim Z Benefit packages for orthopedic implants.