Universal Health Care: the Key to a Healthy Future?

Universal Health Care: the Key to A Healthy Future?

The Department of Health's (DOH) Universal Health Care's (UHC) mandate "is the provision to every Filipino of the highest possible quality of health care that is accessible, efficient, equitably distributed, adequately funded, fairly financed and appropriately used by an informed and empowered public."1

According to DOH, in order to achieve UHC, three steps are to be taken.

The first, is financial risk protection through the National Health Insurance Program (NHIP). The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation or PhilHealth is the government's current health insurance program which replaced Medicare in 1995. Also known as The National Health Insurance Act of 1995 or RA 7875, PhilHealth holds up policies such as universality and equity of health insurance, and is in favor of the underprivileged who are not able to pay the costs needed. In July 2010, a major reform effort focused on enrolling more poor families to PhilHealth was made.

Despite the financially accessible services PhilHealth offers, the low-income of families are still not able to afford said services resulting in poor health status and making the life expectancy of those in richer segments longer than those in the poor segments. (Romualdez, 2009)

This inequity in health care can also be determined through the presence of private sectors. Thus, the second step: better access to quality facilities. Government-owned hospitals and facilities are to be upgraded to accommodate the community and its needs. Though as private sectors provide better facilities than those government-owned, being in better facilities albeit at a higher cost appeals more even to those unable to afford them.

The third step is the attainment of three health-related Millenium Development Goals (MDG): reduce child mortality, improve maternal health and combat of diseases. Medicines, surgeries, due to benefits and programs these past years usually only have fee-of-charge bills...