THE basic intent of the Universal Health Care Law, Republic Act 11223 which was signed by former President Rodrigo Duterte, is to provide all Filipinos with the health care they need, when they need it, with little or no expense at all.
The law enrolled all Filipino citizens in the National Health Insurance Program which is administered by the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth). This is a tall order, considering that we are now close to 112 million Filipinos across the Philippine archipelago.
The law’s lofty goals cannot be adequately met by the existing 722 public hospitals that we have, 66 of which are managed by the Department of Health while the rest are operated by local government units and other government agencies.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was in South Cotabato last Jan. 14 where he took notice of that province’s Healthcare System and Referral Manual which he said should be duplicated by other places in the country. On this occasion, Marcos promised the government will look into ways to effectively implement Universal Health Care (UHC) as he emphasized the importance of proper health care for all Filipinos.
The President was hopeful that with the appointment of a new DOH chief, Secretary Ted Herbosa, implementation of the UHC will be enhanced.
‘The UHC, being one of the important and relevant public services of the government, deserves the support of our legislators who are crafting the national budget, the private sector who also operates hospitals and healthcare facilities, and the general public who stand to benefit from the program.’
The Universal Health Care program’s logistical and funding problems will somehow be relieved by the recent turnover of P834.2 million by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) to PhilHealth. PCSO General Manager Mel Robles said the amount would be remitted to the Bureau of Treasury and will cover the agency’s contribution to the UHC program for the fourth quarter of 2022 and January-February, 2023.
Under RA 11223, the PCSO must allocate 40 percent of its charity fund to help subsidize the national government’s health program. Robles stressed that the PCSO is working hard to surpass its revenue target this year to raise more funds for UHC and the national government’s other charity programs.
Aside from the PCSO, the Universal Health Care program also receives 50 percent of the national government’s share from the income of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor). The program is also funded by the General Appropriations Act (GAA) in the amount of P182 billion or thereabouts annually.
Even with this budget and the contributions from PCSO and Pagcor, public hospitals cannot possibly serve all the basic healthcare needs of Filipinos, thus it is imperative for the President and the health secretary to think of ways to ramp up the UHC’s funding and services.
The nation’s transition to the post-COVID-19 pandemic era is most challenging for the government since the residual effects of this public health emergency will remain for some time, especially in the area of economic recovery.
The UHC, being one of the important and relevant public services of the government, deserves the support of our legislators who are crafting the national budget, the private sector who also operates hospitals and healthcare facilities, and the general public who stand to benefit from the program.
