Private hospitals told to avoid reckless spending

Healthcare claims could increase by 21% this year, the highest in Asia.

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Philippine private hospitals should cut costs by avoiding wasteful spending, including on medical supplies, to ease the burden on patients, as personal healthcare claims in the country could rise by 21% this year — the highest in Asia.

“We analyse each procedure's actual cost to remove unnecessary expenses and implement a just-in-time inventory system to reduce waste in medical supplies,” Beaver Tamesis, CEO at Asian Hospital and Medical Center, told Healthcare Asia.

Private hospitals should also start offering affordable medical packages for procedures such as gallstone removal and pneumonia treatment, instead of catering only to the rich, he said in an exclusive interview.

Whilst the cost of medical claims across Asia is expected to stabilise this year, the Philippines is expected to experience a 21% increase in healthcare claims — the highest in Asia, where the average rate is placed at 13%, according to a Mercer Marsh Benefits report. The so-called medical trend rate in the Philippines was also estimated at 21% last year after rising 24% in 2023.

Rising medical claim costs