Lifting the burden
A WELL- ORGANIZED and effective health care system is one of the services many developed nations and governments like Germany and France take pride in. Although it still isn’t on those levels, analysts believe that the state of health care and pharmaceutical companies in the Philippines is growing and undergoing critical changes. With a national goal of providing universal health care to all Filipinos, both private and public health sectors are modifying their systems for a healthier populace.
A primary health care ( PHC) method was adopted in 1979, stated the Department of Health ( DoH). This encouraged participatory management of the local health care system with an ultimate goal of achieving health for all Filipinos by 2000.
“Health reforms in the Philippines build upon the lessons and experiences from the past major health reform initiatives undertaken in the last 30 years,” the DoH said in a report.
The PHC focuses on the delivery of eight essential elements of health care, including the prevention and control of prevalent health problems; the promotion of adequate food supply and proper nutrition; basic sanitation and adequate supply of water; maternal and child care; immunization; prevention and control of endemic diseases; appropriate treatment and control of common diseases; and provision of essential drugs.
Meanwhile, a report by the Oxford Business Group suggests that the DoH itself has admitted that the authority vested in the government’s various regulatory groups has not yet been fully exercised.
“Despite a long record of efforts at reforming regulations and the financing and delivery of health services, as well as addressing the system’s inefficiencies and inequalities, implementation of reforms has been challenged by the devolved health systems as well as a large private sector, the combination of which can fragment and vary the quality of the country’s health services,” it explained.
The reliable access to quality medicine is a basic part of the human right to health, according to the government. With the Philippine Medicines Policy 2011- 2016, it ensures that Filipinos will have the said access as it pointed out the five foundations for the utilization and manufacture of pharmaceuticals in the country: safety, efficacy and quality; affordability and availability; rational drug use; accountability and good governance; and health systems support.
In a previous study created by the World Health Organization ( WHO), it ranked the Philippines 60 out of 191 countries in terms of health care performance.
In terms of a universal health coverage, a single-player, premiumbased financing insurance system was created through the founding of the National Health Insurance Program, managed by Philippine Health Insurance Corporation ( PhilHealth) in 1995.
Former President Benigno Aquino signed the Republic Act 10645 in 2014, which gave automatic coverage of the full range of PhilHealth benefits to Filipino citizens aged 60 and over, with the national government paying their premiums.
According to the Oxford Business Group, PhilHealth membership was estimated at 81.63M beneficiaries, or about 82% of the country’s population of nearly 100M as of February 2015.
“The government’s ultimate goal is to attain universal coverage by covering the remaining 18% of Filipinos who are not enrolled. It intends to achieve this by making registration easier, removing the need for certain documents, multiplying points of access and encouraging group enrollment,” it added.
In spite of that, there were also criticisms spewed at the said insurance system for its limited breadth and depth of coverage. This has resulted in high- levels of “out- ofpocket payments.”
“However, policies have been implemented to reduce the financial risk of becoming ill, such as expanding PhilHealth to cover more poor Filipinos, enhancing the benefits package and reforming provider payment systems to contain costs.”
Of course, medicine and a universal health coverage are not the sole factors of an effective health care system as there are still some to consider such as labor distribution, facilities, pharma, and telemedicine, among others. While acquiring a universal coverage is bound to require more local and national government coordination, the Oxford Business Group stated that PhilHealth can help by continuing its focus on financial protection.
“Finally, an in- depth analysis and reform of the pharmaceutical sector is necessary to lift the financial burden of medical spending on the average household. This will not come easily, but with coordination and continued higher national and foreign investment, the health care sector can build on its strengths to become one of Southeast Asia’s finest,” it said. —