LAOAG CITY, July 28 -- Indigent and financially disadvantaged patients in Ilocos Norte on Tuesday thanked President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for the continued efforts to expand access to affordable healthcare through financial assistance for eligible patients in government hospitals.

If not for the zero billing program, 71-year-old Teresita Macalma from Barangay Sungadan, Paoay, Ilocos Norte would not have been able to replace her dual-chamber pacemaker battery, which is nearing the end of its service life, at the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center in Batac City, Ilocos Norte in the last week of June.

"We are so thankful for the hospital's zero billing program. My mother-in-law is now in good condition after her pacemake...