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THE PUBLIC HEALTHCARE SCENE IN THE PHILIPPINES: A SOLUTION

PROPOSAL

3 out of 10 public healthcare establishments in the Philippines lack access to clean and

sanitary toilet facilities (Yee & Ramos, 2019). This substandard sanitation may cause infection

among patients, and may also cause cross-contamination among patients and even workers.

Knowing this, the Filipinos are paying their taxes, expecting quality service from the government

instead, they get a subpar service, less than what they deserve. These establishments should be

able to provide treatment for its patients through its competent staff and better facilities. With a

huge demand for a quality healthcare, now that diseases are on the rise, we have to provide the

best care that we can give. Knowing that governments are responsible for running these

establishments, they should do something about it. The quality and service can be improved by

increased funding of these health establishments by the government.

Knowing the quality of healthcare here in our country, it’s not worth it to spend a lot of

money on that kind of healthcare. But according to Mercer Marsh Benefits: 2019 Medical Trends

report, the Philippines has the second highest cost growth of healthcare in Southeast Asia (Cortez,

2019), but it’s not one of the best healthcare systems. Thailand, Brunei and Hong Kong tops this

list (Aetna, n.d.). In fact, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the average Filipino

spends around Php6390.6 on healthcare in 2019, out-of-pocket. This totals to PhP413 billion, and

is 53.9% of the Current Health Expenditures of the country, with government spending being

Php260.6, which is 34.0%, and Voluntary healthcare payment schemes spending around Php93.3

billion, which is 12.2% (Mapa, 2019). With that amount in mind, the results of the survey reported

in the Philippine Wellness Index, found that 40% of the 1350 respondents cannot afford to pay for
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their medication expenses, and 35% are unsure if they can afford for regular medical checkups

(Chanco, 2019). The survey also found that 37% pay for these medical expenses from their life

savings, and 25% of them are from debt (Cortez, 2019).

Flaton Solano is a man from Romblon who recently went to the National Kidney

Transplant Institute to get dialysis. He had to travel around 400 kilometers to get to his destination,

and as a 61-year-old (Aetnaman, it’s not that easy. The reason why they had to go there and not to

their local public hospital, is because the hospital there wasn’t able to provide them with the

dialysis since the equipment of their hospital cannot handle the procedure. With that said, it is

necessary for the government to take action on the public health scene, since it’s their job to

maintain these facilities. A recent issue this year, which involved the cutting of budget of the major

public hospital here in the Philippines, which is the Philippine General Hospital by Php456 Million

(Yap & Ramos, 2019), is not going to help out in the situation. Thus will poorly impact the state

of health of the marginalized people, especially those in the lower class. Quoting the words of

Senator Ralph Recto, “While many are getting sick, we are slashing the budget for hospitals.”

Funding of the public health sector will result in a better healthcare delivery. In fact, in Thailand

and Brunei, where they spend most of their healthcare expenditures in the public health sector,

generally their healthcare services are much better compared to ours. Brunei actually ranks as the

20th best healthcare system in the world while Thailand is at 47 at the World Health Organization

league table. (Aetna, n.d.)

Although another approach is proposed, which is preventive healthcare, it is not as effective

as the funding of public health establishments. Reason being is that the initiative of the people

cannot be as reliable. As stated earlier, 35% of the respondents of the survey are unsure if they are
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able to provide for the regular checkups that you need in the preventive method, which requires

regular checkups for the doctors to be able to assess the effects of the approach since different

people respond to treatments differently. Second, it is not as cost effective. The preventive method

only adds up costs in the pockets of the citizens. If we’re planning to build a community based

universal health care system, that requires funding, but a new spending model which involves the

preventive method will incur more costs than necessary. Since unnecessary checkups are not

covered by most insurances, this can result in double running costs (Ferguson, 2016), therefore

being much more expensive than necessary.

A better healthcare system is what our country needs, because in turn, it will make our

citizens more productive, thus increasing economic activity. With a healthier body, the people will

also feel happier, less stressed, and generally have a lighter mood. In a country with imminent

outbreaks and sudden spikes in infection rates, we have to protect our people from the harms of

these diseases. The government needs to do something. They need to fund the public hospitals, so

that everyone, regardless of social status, have access to quality healthcare.

REFERENCES

Aetna Inc. (n.d.). Health care quality in Southeast Asia: Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Hong Kong,

Vietnam and Indonesia. Retrieved November 26, 2019,

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lifestyle/health-care-quality-in-southeast-asia.html.
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Chanco, B. (2019, July 5). Philippines healthcare unaffordable. Retrieved November 12, 2019, from

https://www.philstar.com/business/2019/07/05/1932014/philippines-healthcare-

unaffordable.

Cortez, G. M. (2019, June 26). Majority of Filipinos plan to pay for medical expenses with savings,

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Yap, D. J., & Ramos, M. (2019). PGH budget for 2020 cut by P456M. Retrieved November 26,

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