PhilHealth reaffirms commitment to UHC

The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) reaffirmed its commitment to its mandate of delivering Universal Health Care (UHC) to all Filipinos.

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Citing data from the 2023 Philippine National Health Accounts, PhilHealth noted that 44.4% of the country's Current Health Expenditure (CHE) continues to be paid through out-of-pocket (OOP) means.

In contrast, government contributions—which include PhilHealth services and other initiatives such as the Medical Assistance for Indigent Patients (MAIP)-accounted for 42.6% of total health spending.

"Although this is an aggregated figure, we are cognizant of PhilHealth's significant role in alleviating the still-heavy financial burdens that Filipinos face when accessing health services," the agency said in a statement.

To address this, PhilHealth said it aims to reduce OOP spending to 25-35% over the next three years. Achieving this goal will involve regular reviews and refinements of its processes.

For PhilHealth's share alone, the agency is targeting an increase in its contribution to CHE to 25-35% by 2028. This will involve focusing benefit releases on high-burden and high-cost diseases that commonly affect Filipinos, based on available data.