Fifty years after the Philippines made it policy to gradually provide total medical service for its people through a medical care act, the President signed into law the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act (Republic Act 11223). The World Health Organization (WHO) welcomes this development as it is excellent proof of commitment to improving access to high quality health services at the least cost to families.
Health reform in the country has been an iterative process going on for quite some time. The government has intervened through legislation such as the Philippine Medical Care Act (1969), the Local Government Code (1991) and the National Health Insurance Act (1995), all in response to the rapidly changing profile of life expectancy and disease burden. In recent years, the Sin Tax Reform Act (2012) brought in more money for health, giving the Department of Health (DOH) and its partners the challenge of delivering more health for the money.
The new UHC Act is a critical step towards health for all Filipinos as it will facilitate major reforms to consolidate existing yet fragmented financial flows, increase the fiscal space for benefit delivery, improve the governance and performance of devolved local health systems, and institutionalize support mechanisms such as health technology assessment and health promotion.
WHO also recognizes that the new UHC Act must be adequately funded for its promises to be carried out. The evidence is clear and incontrovertible: further increases in tobacco excise taxes is a win-win solution that will save lives by supporting UHC and reducing the number of Filipino smokers at the same time.
We commend the Philippines for taking this step in the right direction. We join all stakeholders in supporting the DOH and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) as they draft the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for this landmark law. It is crucial for the operational guidelines to properly demonstrate the political commitment for all Filipinos to know more about their health, be provided with healthy living conditions, be protected from hazards and risks that could affect their health while also avoiding financial hardship.