Fragmentation between national government agencies and local government units continues to stall the implementation of the Universal Healthcare (UHC) Act, leaving millions of Filipinos facing high medical costs and unequal access to care years after its passage.
Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health Center for Research Innovation assistant professor and public health researcher Veincent Christian Pepito detailed these governance roadblocks during the Ateneo Breakthroughs lecture.
The 2019 law aimed to guarantee equitable healthcare access, but systemic gaps keep that goal out of reach for many families.
A primary obstacle to effective healthcare delivery is the lack of political prioritization, as health projects lack the immediate visibility of public works.
“Roads, infrastructure, and flood control projects provide politicians with tangible, visible projects that resonate with the public and contribute to electoral success,” Pepito said, noting that healthcare fails to offer the same political visibility needed to sway votes.
The lack of priority manifests in health budgets that fail to keep pace with rising inflation and the medical needs of the population. The issue is further compounded by an uneven distribution of overburdened healthcare workers across the country and underperforming digital patient management systems.
“A health system must be built, coordinated, financed, staffed, trusted, and made intelligible to the people it is meant to serve,” Ateneo de Manila University assistant vice president for research, creative work and innovation Filomeno Aguilar said during his opening remarks.
Despite these structural deficiencies, some areas report progress through localized interventions. Current efforts focus on improving primary care services, strengthening local health leadership, and developing interoperable digital systems that allow patient records to move seamlessly between facilities.
Systemic fragmentation means the impact of the law remains uneven, forcing families to calculate medical costs before seeking treatment or to forgo care entirely.
