WHAT IS UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE BILL AND HOW WILL IT BENEFIT THE FILIPINO PEOPLE?

Health care costs in the Philippines are getting more expensive. In fact, our country has the highest
medical inflation rate in Asia at 13.1% in 2018, based on a Mercer Marsh Benefits survey. This is twice as
high as the country's consumer inflation rate at 6.7% (as of September 2018). Also, the latest data from
the Philippine Statistics Authority show that Filipino households paid out-of-pocket 54.2% of the country's
total health expenditure from 2014 to 2016. The household out-of-pocket spending is higher than
government healthcare financing schemes (34.2%). The Philippines' dismal state of public health care
system makes measures like the Universal Health Care Bill both necessary and urgent. The Senate
approved the Universal Health Care Bill last October 2018.

What is Universal Health Care Bill?

The Universal Health Care Bill (Senate Bill 1896) is a proposal to provide all Filipinos with access to
affordable, quality, and comprehensive health services. Once it becomes a law, the government will
implement several reforms in the Philippine health care system.

How Will the Universal Health Care Bill Benefit Filipinos?

1. Automatic Health Insurance for All Filipinos

Under the Universal Health Care Bill, all Filipino citizens will be automatically enrolled in PhilHealth and
therefore, will enjoy access to primary health services. This means you can avail of health care benefits
even without a PhilHealth ID card.

2. Expanded PhilHealth Coverage

The Universal Health Care Bill will add preventive health care services to existing PhilHealth benefits, such
as free consultation fees, laboratory tests, and other diagnostic procedures. Department of Health (DOH)
Secretary Francisco Duque III said that the bill, once passed into law, will change the country's present
health care system from being "used to taking care of the sick to one that is used to keeping people
healthy.”

3. Simplified PhilHealth Membership

Presently, PhilHealth has multiple membership categories. If you're shifting from one category to another,
like from employed to self-employed or OFW, you'll have to update your member record to continue your
PhilHealth coverage. However, that will change when the Universal Health Care Bill becomes a law.
PhilHealth membership will be divided into just two categories:

Direct contributors - These include employees, self-employed professionals, and OFWs who can pay
PhilHealth contributions. The bill states that they will still be entitled to PhilHealth benefits even when
they fail to pay.

Indirect contributors - These include senior citizens, indigents, and other members whose PhilHealth
contributions will be subsidized by the government. They'll continue to enjoy the No Balance Billing when
admitted to any ward in public hospitals in the Philippines. For the indirect contributors' PhilHealth
contribution subsidy will come from the government's annual budget and sin taxes from cigarettes.
4. Better Health Care Access and Quality in the Philippines

Universal Health Care Bill Philippines 2018 According to DOH data, there are 33,000 patients per doctor
and 1,121 patients per hospital bed in the Philippines. Because of this, the Universal Health Care Bill seeks
to improve the doctor-to-patient ratio and upgrade hospital bed capacities and equipment. To achieve
those goals, the bill proposes the building of hospitals in remote places. It also requires all graduates of
health-related courses from state universities and colleges or government-funded scholarship programs
to serve for three years in the public sector. According to Duque, the government will form Service
Delivery Networks to provide primary health care.