The Philippines was cited as one of two countries that “stand out” in developing Asia and the Pacific for having relatively low health insurance coverage of poor older people, according to a report released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) yesterday.
The report titled, Aging Well in Asia, said those in the poorest quintile account for 47 percent of all uninsured people in the Philippines.
The other country mentioned in the report was the People’s Republic of China, at 35 percent.
The report said universal health coverage must meet the diverse health needs of older people.
In addition to making progress achieving universal health coverage, ADB said it also is critical to extend essential services and interventions that optimize older people’s physical and functional capacity.
According to the report, the region is unprepared to secure the well-being of the rapidly aging population as the growing share of older people in the region faces challenges from low pension coverage to health problems, social isolation and limited access to essential services.
The multilateral agency said that the number of people aged 60 and older in developing Asia and the Pacific is set to nearly double by 2050 to 1.2 billion, or about a quarter of the total population, significantly increasing the need for pension and welfare programs as well as health care services.
“Governments need to prepare now if they’re going to be able to help hundreds of millions of people in the region age well. Policies should support lifetime investment in health, education, skills and financial preparedness for retirement,” ADB chief economist Albert Park said.
“Family and social ties are also important to foster healthy and productive populations of older people and maximize their contribution to society,” he added.
