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Friday, March 29, 2024

‘Steady stream of funds must on health care’

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Once President Rodrigo Duterte signs into law the Universal Health Care bill that seeks to give all Filipinos access to health care and services, its implementation will be a challenge because of the need for “steady funds,” an official said Wednesday.

“The budget cuts on the Department of Health  for 2019 is not good for UHC,” said Senator JV Ejercito, the principal author and sponsor of the UHC bill in the Senate.

Senator JV Ejercito

The reduction in the Health department’s budget next year was pegged at P36 billion since the agency’s budget was reduced to P74.1 billion from P109.8 billion in the current year, and to only P74.1 billion in 2019.

“Funds for the Health Facilities Enhancement Program [HFEP] is very important for the success of UHC implementation since the establishment of a service delivery network is essential,” Ejecito said.  

He also said the improvement of health facilities was very vital in the UHC program, and that the budget cut on the HFEP was a “step backward” for UHC.

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Senator  Sonny Angara said all Filipinos would get “bigger and better” PhilHealth benefits once UHC became law.

Angara, another author of the measure, said UHC will channel more funds “to all aspects of public health,” from free checkups and medicines to improved hospitals all over the country.

It is estimated that, under the measure, more than P250 billion will be annually remitted to PhilHealth from revenues including the proceeds from the sin taxes, casino dividends and from the intensified PhilHealth membership drive. 

“With more funds comes better services from DOH facilities and higher benefits from PhilHealth. If there’s additional  funds, there should be additional services and benefits for Filipino families, Angara said. 

“PhilHealth funds will not be enough to improve our health care delivery system,” said PhilHealth Independent Director Anthony Leachon.

He said the marginal increase will generate a small amount of revenue, which will be insufficient to finance UHC that Congress recently passed. 

“We are afraid that the UHC roll-out will not happen next year because of lack of funding,” Leachon said. 

“This is politically unacceptable to the electorate whose expectations of improved health care have been heightened by the promise of expanded health coverage and increased health benefits.”

Antonio Dans,  public health expert from the National Academy of Science and Technology, said the proposed increase is not even an improvement of the current tax rate. Its proposed implementation in July 2019 is just six months earlier than what is currently mandated under the TRAIN Law in which the tobacco tax will be raised to ₱37.50 by January 2020. Worse, the legislators passed a bill that will enable 200,000 people to start smoking and get addicted.

The Sin Tax Coalition warned that the UHC implementation may be delayed due to lack of funds after “sustainable  funds”  suffered a major blow when Congress approved a rate of P37.5 for the first year and smaller percentage increases in the following year. 

“We are disturbed and disappointed by the House of Representatives committee on ways and means’ approved rate on the tobacco tax,” the group said.     “The marginal rate increase will not only increase the number of smokers by 200,000 each year. It will likewise translate to 2,000 yearly deaths from purely tobacco-related ailments.” 

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