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Editorial
Its an undeniable fact that there are so many
poor people in our country. Just imagine, we have an
estimated 5.2 million families with a monthly income of
P3,460 or less per family. Thats a total of around 25 million
Filipinos living in extreme poverty. The second group of
4.1 million families have an average monthly income of
between P3,406 to P6,073. This translates to another 20
million Filipinos in deep poverty.
For these 45 million Filipinos, what chance do they
have of receiving any semblance of medical care in our
country? Where will they find the resources to pay for the
high cost of illnesses such as dengue, pneumonia and
heart attacks?
Despite this seemingly hopeless situation, there is
an institution that can potentially alleviate the health
problems of our poor. Experts agree that there is a light
at the end of the tunnel. The solution lies in PhilHealth.
What is PhilHealth?
PhilHealth is the governments health insurance
system. On February 14, 1995, the Philippine Government
passed Republic Act 7875, otherwise known as National
Health Insurance Act to institute the National Health
Insurance Program for all Filipinos. The Law established
the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth)
to be a government owned and controlled corporation,
to implement the countrys health insurance program.
The goals of PhilHealth are as follows: (1) to be able
to provide health insurance coverage for all Filipinos, (2)
to ensure affordable and quality health care services, and
(3) to manage its resources economically. If Filipinos will
support and enroll in PhilHealth, our country may well be
on its way to giving adequate healthcare to an estimated
50% of Filipinos living with meager incomes.
III
Editorial
Challenges Ahead:
Just like any corporation, there are issues facing
PhilHealth, like problems with late payment to doctors
and hospitals. A better information system (already in the
works) can hopefully reduce these obstacles.
Where are we now? At present, PhilHealth, based on
some estimates, covers 56% of the population (Studies
say that the number is between 38% and 87%). If we want
PhilHealth to succeed, we need to enroll more members,
especially the informal sector, like small business owners,
market vendors, drivers and kasambahays.
In addition, local government units, corporations
and employers are highly encouraged to enroll their
constituents and employees in PhilHealth. This is to
ensure that the members and their families will get some
medical care if they need it. Perhaps, the next stage for
foundations, like Gawad Kalinga, is to raise funds and add
PhilHealth coverage to their beneficiaries.
Finally, you may ask, can PhilHealth achieve its goals?
With hard work and prayers, it can. For starters, PhilHealth
currently has a reserve fund of 100 billion pesos. But
despite this amount, the money needed to care for the
health of 90 million Filipinos is staggering and will reach
the trillions. Hence, PhilHealth still needs our support.
Indeed, the road to healthcare recovery is clear: Enrolling
everyone in PhilHealth is the right strategy to solve the
health needs of all Filipinos.
IV