Building a resilient universal health care system
Department of Budget and Management Secretary Kim Robert De Leon stated that universal health care may be achieved when individuals have access to health services across all barangays, municipalities, cities, and provinces. He added that this goal requires sufficient funding and strong financial and management systems. Photo source: Unilab The government’s economic managers have committed their full support to the country’s Universal Health Care ambitions, vowing to combine increased public investment, institutional reforms, and strong assistance to build better-funded, better-managed and more responsive health systems, particularly at the local government level.
In the government’s address before around 200 participants of the 1st Unilab Foundation Executive Symposium held at the Bayanihan Center in Pasig City on September 28, Finance Secretary Frederick Go and Budget and Management Secretary Kim Robert De Leon outlined the economic team’s commitment, while Health Secretary Dr. Edwin Mercado detailed the governance and institutional reforms needed to translate national policies into health services that Filipino families may access in their communities.
Hon. Edwin Mercado, Secretary Department of Health, presented national policy perspectives. Photo source: Unilab “On the part of the DOF, we remain committed to strengthening PhilHealth through our fiscal and institutional reform agenda, including the RISE 30 mission. I have worked personally with PhilHealth in developing the Yakap program, which strengthens primary health care and is an important part of the RISE 30 agenda,” shared Go.
He described UHC as both a social and an economic priority and identified four requirements for its successful implementation: adequate funding and proper management, well-distributed resources that respond to actual needs, strong implementing institutions, and a whole-of-nation approach.
“Sustainable health financing and strong institutions go hand in hand. We must make strategic public investments and ensure that these resources are well-managed and better translated into better health services for Filipino families to directly benefit from,” he added.
Go said national health reforms must reach the local level, where people directly experience government programs and services. “The success of Universal Health Care will be judged by whether our cities, municipalities and provinces have better funded, better managed and more responsive health systems”.
He called UHC a shared responsibility involving the Department of Finance, Department of Health, Department of Budget and Management, PhilHealth, Congress, LGUs, academic institutions, the private sector and civil society.
De Leon, meanwhile, said the administration has proposed P1.06 trillion for the health sector next year, raising health expenditure to approximately 3.19 percent of gross domestic product from 2.68 percent this year.
Of the proposed allocation, P362.73 billion will support the implementation of the Universal Health Care Act.
“This includes P270.98 billion for the Department of Health and its attached agencies, as well as a P74.45-billion subsidy for PhilHealth to help strengthen financial protection for more than 11 million Filipinos,” said De Leon.
“We are also proposing P14.54 billion for the Health Facilities Enhancement Program, or HFEP. This is to upgrade and improve the operations of DOH and LGU hospitals, regional specialty centers, research facilities, and to strengthen their capacity to deliver services,” he added.
The proposed budget also earmarked P24.24 billion for medical assistance to approximately 1.7 million indigent and financially incapacitated patients and P3.75 billion for the Cancer Assistance Fund.
“We will continue investing in health. We will continue strengthening the fiscal capacity of our LGUs. And we will continue pursuing reforms that make public spending more efficient, equitable, transparent and accountable,” said De Leon.
Mercado said the financial commitments must be supported by sound planning, budgeting, procurement and administration to ensure that health services may be sustained at the community level.
“A resilient health system does not end at the frontlines. Its foundation must be laid through plans, accounting ledgers, procurement, budget hearings and all other operational matters which strengthen our programs, policies and strategies to ensure that care delivered at the frontlines will be sustained,” said Mercado.
He stressed that the UHC Act’s guarantee of quality care without financial hardship would only be as strong as the commitment and capacity of the institutions responsible for implementing it.
“Even with universal coverage, if there is no one providing the services, UHC becomes meaningless,” Mercado said.
He added that the government could not shoulder the total financial, operational and structural burden of national health reform on its own. Strong cooperation is needed among the DOH, PhilHealth, LGUs and development, academic and private-sector partners.
The symposium, attended by national and local government leaders, health officials, researchers, development partners and civil society representatives, carried the theme “Building Enduring Frontlines: Transforming LGU Health Systems.”
Among the local chief executives who attended were Naga City Mayor Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo, Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr., Cebu Gov. Pamela aricuatro, Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Lacson, Batanes Gov. Ronald Aguto Jr., Antique Gov. Paolo Everardo Javier, and Romblon Gov. Trina Firmalo-Fabic.
They discussed the programs, operational challenges, and lessons emerging from UHC implementation in their respective localities. The sessions highlighted how geography, fiscal capacity, available health infrastructure, and administrative capability influence the quality and accessibility of care.
The symposium was organized by the Unilab Foundation through its Sustainable Health Care program, which implements public-private UHC initiatives at the grassroots level.
L to R, Atty. Jose Maria Ochave, Executive Director, Unilab Foundation; Atty. Benedicto Bacani, executive director of the Institute for Autonomy and Governance; Dr. Zul Qarneyn Abas, deputy minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Ministry of Health; Cebu Gov. Pamela Baricuatro; Naga City Mayor Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo; Dr. Janine Patricia Robredo, research specialist at Ariadne Labs, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr.; Negros Occidental Governor, Eugenio Jose”Bong” Lacson; Batanes Gov. Ronald Aguto, Jr., and Ruben “John” Basa, Director, Sustainable Health Care, Unilab Foundation. Photo source: Unilab The gathering examined how national health policies and financing could be translated into strong local services, with discussions focusing on primary health care, patient-data governance, local financing, convergence budgeting and health planning.
L to R: Margaux Marie V. Salcedo and Dr. Geminn Louis “Gelo” Apostol, moderators; Gov. Paolo Everardo S. Javier, Antique; Gov. Trina Firmalo-Fabic, Romblon; Dr. Lino Marcus M. Viola III, Provincial Health Officer, Romblon; Dr. Elisse Nicole B. Catalan, Cebu Consultant; Jean J. Castaneda, Budget Office Supervising Administrative Officer, Bacolod City; Dr. Mohrein H. Ismael VI, Health Officer, Isabela City; Vicente Alberto R. Puyat, data analyst and quantitative methods lead for Local Health Financing (Phase 2), Ateneo School of Government; and Dr. Maria Eufemia C. Yap, senior research fellow at the Ateneo School of Government exchange experiences during the second panel discussion on local health systems, financing, and universal health care implementation. Photo source: Unilab “May this forum serve to ignite our collective action behind a shared mission: building our frontlines to realize the promises of UHC,” said Mercado.