Health Policy Network

HPN study finds Philippine healthcare financing system seriously underfunded, inequitable

2009-09-06T04:17:00Z

A recent study by the Center for Legislative Development and the Health Policy Network finds the Philippine health care system seriously underfunded and characterized by acute inequities that leavethe poor without reliable access to the health care system.

Despite recent policy moves that seek to address such inequities, the poor remain vulnerable and questions remain whether they will be actually benefited with increased access or merely reinforce the access of those who already enjoy them.

Over 15 years since Congress passed the National Health Insurance Act of 1995, inequities pervade notwithstanding the over all improvement in health outcomes. The Act established the National Health Insurance Program (NHIP) and created the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) as its financing vehicle with a clear constitutional mandate that “the State shall adopt an integrated and comprehensive approach to health development which shall endeavour to make essential goods, health and other social services available to all the people at affordable costs.”

The NHIP has set2015 as goal for providing coverage for all Filipinos as mandated by the law. Just a few more years before its goal,studies suggest that a vast majority of Filipinos still remain inadequately covered by the national health insurance program.

The CLD-HPN study is available at CLD's website: http: cld.org

Quality issues in delivery of health care services: A policy perspective

2009-05-15T01:42:00Z

As a paramount national concern, access to health care has mobilized policy makers and stakeholders to consider urgent steps to bridge the glaring gap between access to health care by the poor and the rich. But access is just one of the indicators of health care inequities that policy makers must address now.

Depending on one's ability to pay, Filipino patients may enjoy the best state-of-the-art care that is comparable to the best there is in highly advanced countries. But a much larger portion of the population has to do with improvised health care technology like the fabled makeshift incubators used by cash-strapped health care facilities in remote health care facilities.

How do we ensure that policy initiatives address health care inequities rather than perpetuate them? How do we distinguish policies that were pushed in the name of the poor but does very little for them?

To explore these issues, we would like to invite you to a policy discussion on "Quality issues in delivery of health care services: A Policy perspective on May 27, 2009, Wednesday, 9 am to 11 am at the AIM Conference Center, Benavidez corner Trasierra Streets Legazpi Village Makati City.

To reserve a seat for the forum, please call Netsky at 750-1010 local 2072 or email us at healthpolicy@cld.org.

Media forum on softening the impact of the global economic crisis on the health sector, March 19 at the AIM Conference Center in Makati City

2009-03-10T15:01:00Z

On March 19, the Center for Legislative Development International (CLD) and the Health Policy Network will hold another roundtable discussion aimed exclusively for media professionals to discuss policy options to soften impact of the global financial crisis on the health sector.

Without much fanfare, the global economic crisis landed on our shores when the first batch of displaced Filipino overseas workers in Taiwan returned jobless. This was immediately followed with the closure of Intel processor company and the last flight of FedEx from Subic a few weeks ago.

In fact, the International Labor Organization has warned that the crisis could push more than 140 million people in Asia into extreme poverty this year due to widespread unemployment. Locally, social analysts have aired their concern that the combined effects of extreme poverty and unemployment could lead to a catastrophe for millions of Filipinos who are dependent on the private and government health insurance system.

The media forum will be held March 19, from 10 am to 12 noon at the AIM Conference Center in Makati City. For further details, please call Ms. Netski Pinili at 750-1010 local 2072 or 703-1245.

Reducing prices not enough to help the poor

2009-02-25T01:36:00Z

By Cris G. Odronia, Reporter
The Manila Times, February 25, 2009

Reducing the prices of medicine is not enough to improve health care in the Philippines, an executive director of the Center for Legislative Development International said Tuesday.

According to Prof. Emmanuel Leyco, “a pricing policy response is not going to work” because even if medicine prices are reduced, only those who can afford to buy them will benefit.

In his presentation at the Kapihan para sa Kalusugan forum held at the Asian Institute of Management, Leyco said some of the factors that impede access to health care services are availability, affordability and accessibility.

Citing the recent Family Income and Expenditures Survey, Leyco said about 70 percent of the population do not have access to health care services not only because of the prevailing market prices of medical care but also because of their low income.

He pointed out that among the top 10 expenditures of the Filipinos, medical care has ranked No. 8. The No. 1 expenditure is food, followed by house rent and transportation and communication.

He said government’s attempt to keep a tighter control on health care facilities and price levels of medicines in the Philippines through the passage of the Anti-Hospital Detention Law and the Cheaper Medicines Law, will have little impact on the medical needs of the poor.

“It [Cheaper Medicines Law] was a very sincere effort. [However], what was not considered was the people purchasing power profile and spending pattern,” he said. “These are the two major aspects [that need to be considered."

Leyco argued that even if the government would reduce the prices of the medicines, the poor ones, especially those who have no savings, “particularly the bottom 50 percent of the population, would not be able to benefit from it.”

For the poor ones to have access to health care, the government has to give it for free, Leyco said. But if they are given medicines, the poor have other things to worry about such as access to hospital facilities.

“We need to have a focused targeted health policy,” Leyco said, adding the government has to focus on rural areas.

Citing the figures from the National Statistics Office and the Department of Health, he said there is an uneven distribution of healthcare resources and physicians and nurses in the country. Majority of the nurses and doctors are operating in the National Capital Region.

Kapihan Para sa Kalusugan

2009-02-18T13:18:00Z

CLD, through its Health Policy Network project will launch its first Kapihan Para sa Kalusugan, a media forum to tackle policy issues of the day. The first Kapihan will be held on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 from 9 am to 11 am at the Duet's Bistro, located on the 5th Fl of the AIM Conference Center, Benavidez corner Trasierra Streets, Legazpi Village Makati City .

Rationale: Lack of access to health care services by millions of Filipinos has prompted the country's lawmakers to adopt new laws to address the perceived financial barriers that prevent access by the poor to health care services.

CLD's research team, however, examined the issues and found that the barriers to health care access are deeply entrenched in the country's socio-economic structure and that drug price control policy will only have limited effects.

CLD's study shows that such will benefit mostly those who can already afford to buy their medicines. CLD recommends that a comprehensive health care reform, anchored on a health care financing reform be pursued to ensure the Filipinos� access to affordable and quality health care services.

For more details, please call Netsky Pinili, CLD Secretariat, Telephone Nos. +6..., local 2072 , Direct line: +6...

HPN as Stakeholders' Forum for Health Care Reform

2009-01-27T14:05:54Z

Lack of access to health care services by millions of Filipinos have prompted the country's lawmakers to take major steps to address this issue while pinning down health care cost as the major culprit. Bills and new laws were adopted to address the perceived financial barriers that prevent access by the poor to health care services.

A law, oddly known as the "Anti-Hospital Detention Law," was passed that now explicitly mandates hospitals to treat patients without requiring "deposits" or be discharged from the facility even prior to fully settling their accounts.

Last year, an encompassing legislation was also passed to control drug prices, allow importation of lower priced medicines and early development of generics for patented drugs.

To help sustain the momentum on health care reform, the Center for Legislative Development (CLD) initiated the Health Policy Network (HPN) as a forum in further exploring options to enhance access and delivery of quality health care to Filipinos, especially the marginalized poor.

CLD is a Philippine-based non governmental organization that assists in the capacity development of national and local legislatures and promotes broad citizen participation in the legislative process.

As a virtual forum, this blogsite is intended to stimulate health policy discussions among stakeholders by making their views known regarding issues that affect access, affordability and delivery of quality health care services.

CLD will also post event announcements and results of its studies on relevant health care issues and invite comments and suggestions from readers.

The CLD-HPN Secretariat