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Philippines
Friday, March 29, 2024

Health for all

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What does our fundamental law say about health?

In terms of over-all policy, it is to “protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them.”

Based on this, the government is mandated to “adopt an integrated and comprehensive approach to health development which shall endeavor to make essential goods, health and others social services available to all the people at affordable cost.”

And more: “There shall be priority for the needs of the underprivileged sick, elderly, disable, women and children. The State shall endeavor to provide free medical care to paupers.”

That’s clear enough.

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But it appears that given the paltry budget provided to the Department of Health every year compared to other frontline services, Congress does not consider the health sector deserving of the priority that the Constitution gives it in no uncertain terms.

The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation or PhilHealth is supposed to implement universal health care in the country.

But recent reports that Filipinos shoulder up to 44.7 percent of medical costs even with PhilHealth indicates that much remains to be done to really provide adequate health care to our growing population.

Out-of-pocket expenditures are expenses paid by an individual not covered by PhilHealth.

In a recent hearing of Senate Committee on Government Corporations and Public Enterprises, a PhilHealth official said that based on their records, the out-of-pocket percentage is 34 percent, meaning for every P1 spending, the out-of-pocket is 34 centavos.

Sen. Joel Villanueva asked if the figure had improved since the World Health Organization’s global health expenditure report, which showed that the out-of-pocket expenditure in the country was at 48.56 percent.

He pointed out that the government should lower the high out-of-pocket expenses within acceptable limits.

In the same briefing, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano said the government should help PhilHealth in providing universal health care coverage to all Filipinos.

He proposed that the Senate look into the revenue generated by excise taxation and use it to assist PhilHealth.

It is only proper to ask, as the lawmaker did, as to how many Filipinos are really members of PhilHealth, after he cited an OCTA Research survey that showed 57 percent of Filipinos said they were either lapsed members or not members of PhilHealth.

Indeed, under the Universal Healthcare Law, all Filipinos, including those working abroad, are automatically part of PhilHealth.

But as things now stand, only 90 percent of Filipinos are registered with PhilHealth, with about 10 to 12 million Filipinos not registered.

If that’s the case, then the agency should step up its education campaign to inform Filipinos that under the Universal Healthcare law, they are considered automatically part of PhilHealth, and therefore entitled to health insurance benefits.

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