Health care financing at risk
Published on Tuesday, 22 January 2013 23:00
Written by A.G. ROMUALDEZ
http://www.malaya.com.ph/index
‘Banzon successfully introduced a corporate culture more conducive to the appropriate behavior of a social health insurance agency.’
LAST week, the community of universal health care advocates in the Philippines was shaken by the sudden resignation of the president of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth). The announcement put a damper of sorts on the growing optimism that equitable access to all Filipinos, especially the poor, could be realized within the remaining term of the Aquino administration.
This optimism was based on the enactment of two laws critical to the implementation of the administration’s UHC or “Kalusugan Pangkalahatan” (KP) program.
The Sin Tax Law established the point that health was a high priority of Philippine society by using the tax powers of the State to discourage the consumption of unhealthy products such as tobacco and alcohol. The measure also would enable raising revenue to finance government’s health programs aimed at protecting individuals from the financial risks of ill-health, improving health services by enhancing government health facilities, and moving towards the attainment of the millennium development goals (MDG) including combating non-communicable diseases (NCD).
The Reproductive Health and Responsible Parenthood Law provided the legal mandate for government to further invest in the efforts to improve the health of Filipino families in all income groups through provision of adequate information and quality services for reproductive health. Such investments would also provide the foundation for the promotion of healthy lifestyles throughout an individual’s life cycle literally “from womb to tomb”.
Social health insurance, provided through PhilHealth, is a critical component of the program to finance the provision of essential health care services. It is envisioned to participate in the three health systems functions suggested in a WHO Bulletin article published in the year 2000 - raising revenues (through premium collection), pooling risks (through its insurance approach), and purchasing of health services (through its benefits packages). PhilHealth’s national health insurance scheme also contributes some answers to the three fundamental questions on universal health coverage – who are covered (individuals, families, and communities), what services are covered (health promotion, disease prevention, treatment of illnesses, and restoration of normal physical functions), and what proportion of costs are covered (by national government, local governments, or individuals).
Until recently, the corporate behavior of PhilHealth has been that of a private insurance company whose goal is to maximize income (premium collection) and minimize expenditures (benefits payments) to optimize profits. In his fourteen months as chief executive of the corporation, Banzon successfully introduced a corporate culture more conducive to the appropriate behavior of a social health insurance agency. The abrupt change in leadership at Phil Health can result in a leadership vacuum that may allow its regression back to its old corporate ways. Such an eventuality will certainly mean a setback for universal health care in the Philippines.
For this reason, it is hoped that the search for a new president of PHIC will not be prolonged. Further, a delay would provide an opportunity for politics to be a factor in determining the new leader for an agency that has a major role in mapping the country’s road to a truly equitable system for health financing – this is certainly not a remote possibility with elections just around the corner.
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In the 1960s, changes in the Catholic Mass were instituted in response to the Second Vatican Council’s orientation toward a more liberal and people-friendly liturgy. Late last year, the Catholic Church once again revised the Mass to which millions have been accustomed. An article published in the Washington Post last October described the revisions as follows: “The overhaul, which will become mandatory Nov. 27, is aimed at unifying the more than 1 billion Catholics worldwide with a translation that is as close as possible to the original Latin version. It allows for less independence and diversity of interpretation in a church that in recent decades has tried to retain more control over how Catholicism is defined.”
The revisions have sparked a new argument between progressive and conservative factions within the Catholic Church. The former view the new liturgy as an imposition of reactionary notions to reverse the reforms introduced during the Second Vatican Council. The latter believe that a reversion to a more traditionalist and less conversational format constitutes a restoration of Catholic identity.
A recent survey conducted by a diocese in the United Kingdom revealed that among English-speaking Catholics, the preponderance of reactions to the newly introduced liturgical language is negative. Here in the Philippines, there has been little outcry for or against the new format – probably reflecting the success of conservatives in the Philippine Catholic Church in stifling discussion and maintaining docility among the Filipino laity.
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MINA TENORIO
mina@likhaan.org
Likhaan Center for Women's Health, Inc.
88 Times Street, West Triangle Homes,
Quezon City 1104 Philippines
Tel: (63 2) 926-6230
Fax: (63 2) 411-3151
Email: office@likhaan.org
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