8/11/2019 Health Care Services in the Phil Submitted

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Health Care Services in the Philippines

Gains in the health care system in the country cannot be understated. The past year

alone we have seen the passage of two hallmark legislation – the Reproductive Health Law and

the Sin Tax Law  –  both of which will guarantee higher resources for the public health care

system and increase access of marginalized sectors to health services. Within Asian countries,

the Philippines also appear to be halfway in achieving the Millennium Development Goals

indicators on health.

Improvements in the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) have been

observed, more notably the increase in coverage of members and beneficiaries from 38% of the

total population in 2000 to 82% in 2011. Benefits provided as well as collections from members

have likewise increased. Social Weather Station’s survey late last year further shows

PhilHealth’s public satisfaction rating increase from plus 67 percent to plus 82 percent. There isthus much to be hoped for in achieving universal healthcare in the Philippines.

Taking these improvements into account however, considerably more than what was

achieved still needs to be done. For example, the quality of healthcare services remains

inconsistent across the country with the inefficient decentralization of healthcare functions and

resources. Coverage thus is highly unequal among the different regions and provinces of the

country, with coverage reaching up to 67.5% in Northern Mindanao but remaining as low as

17.5% in ARMM. There is also substantial difference in access to health services between urban

and rural areas, as well as, across quintiles of the population, given that only 21% in the poorest

quintile have access to health insurance while access of the richest quintile is at 65%.

Moreover, out-of-pocket spending on health remains high at 53% of total health spending

showing the high financial burden on each individual that government fails to attend to,

exacerbated further by the highly unequal wealth distribution in the country.

With the current situation of the health care system in the country, there is indeed

fertile ground for progressive reforms and much room for innovations. The Philippines

consequently lags behind her Southeast Asian neighbors in healthcare reform.

Prepared by: Archie Veda R Capistrano