Is Philippine healthcare affordable? Get the numbers today and learn the reasons for the high costs.

How expensive (or affordable) is Philippine healthcare? Perhaps when you know the number, you'll understand why you need health insurance plans.

Philippine Healthcare Costs at a Glance

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), total health expenditures increased by 8.3% in 2018. That's 799.1 billion pesos compared to 737.8 billion the previous year. Within the same period, a typical Filipino household spent over 7,000 on healthcare. This represented an increase of 6.6% from 2017.

Healthcare is also part of a family's out-of-pocket expenses. These make up a whopping 53.9% of their spending. Meanwhile, in the 2019 Legatum Prosperity Index, the Philippines ranked 84th among 167 countries. This data measured various aspects, such as security and health.

On the same list, the Philippines scored better in healthcare than security, receiving 101 points. Among the Southeast Asian nations, Singapore topped, ranking 16th overall.

Its healthcare, though, received 1. It's the highest point the index could give. The Philippines ranked higher than Cambodia, but the latter seemed to have more efficient healthcare.

Why Are the Costs High?

Where are the high costs coming from? They are from a combination of factors.

1. Cancer Treatment - Cancer is one of the fastest-growing diseases in the country. The data from the World Health Organization (WHO) showed that at least 141,000 Filipinos would receive such a diagnosis each year. Around 86,000 people will die. Health authorities recommend that patients should pay only 25% of the total costs. The government must shoulder the rest.

Still, Filipinos could spend as much as 5 million pesos on treating the disease. On average, families earn 22,000 pesos a month. The middle-class groups could take home 50,000 or 600,000 pesos annually.

2. Lack of and Unequal Resources - Whether these are facilities or human resources, not enough supply is available to meet the healthcare needs of the growing Filipino population.

As of 2016, the Department of Health (DOH) revealed that the country lacked 15,000 doctors. Worse, not more than 40% of healthcare professionals work in the government. The majority are in the private setting, according to the Borgen Project. It makes healthcare less sustainable or hard to reach for low-income families.

3. Lack of Enough Insurance - The Philippines has PhilHealth, which covers about 92% of the population. It also implements a no-billing policy, especially for indigents and seniors. Companies, meanwhile, can extend HMO plans. The coverage can extend to a few dependents.

Often, these are not enough. The coverage can be limited and selective. For example, only employees can maximize HMO coverage. The benefits also stop as soon as the employee leaves.

In other words, this leaves a significant gap in managing healthcare costs. It is no wonder that the country has the highest out-of-pocket expense in Southeast Asia. All is well in the world until you get sick. The bills can pile up to thousands in a day.

The ways to make healthcare affordable extend to sound national policies. Nevertheless, having adequate insurance will help bring down the costs when you need it the most.