There are many positive things about the healthcare system in the country. For one thing, we do have a free healthcare system provided by the government. Under PhilHealth, all Filipinos will be entitled to receive healthcare services.

There are many good quality hospitals in the country as well, with good quality facilities that are up to par with hospitals that are abroad.  However, the small, crowded hospitals in the remote provinces are pale in comparison to the hospitals abroad. 

Philippine healthcare, at a glance:

Well-educated doctors.

One good thing about Philippine healthcare is the very good doctors we have would be very well-trained. However, many of the good doctors in the country choose to go abroad, many have since gone back to school to become nurses in the pursuit of greener pastures in a first-world country. This brain-drain has affected the Philippine healthcare system because we would be losing good quality doctors in the process.

Quality hospitals.

Most of the hospitals in the big cities would have a very high standard, however only the very elite and rich would have the capacity to bring their sick family members here. The middle- and lower-class would have hospitals that have good quality, but then some of these hospitals, especially in the rural provinces, would have incomplete facilities.

The poverty-stricken families would have trouble getting any hospitalization at all, even if they would need it. This is because the public hospitals would always be fully booked, that it would sometimes be impossible to get confined.

Medicines.

The medicines that are produced in the country would be of good quality. There would be branded and generic versions of the drugs available, with the generic brands being marginally cheaper than their branded counterparts.

The Department of Health (DoH) would insist that the generic brands would work just as well as branded drugs. They came up with this option to cater to the families that lived on much stricter budgetary constraints but would also need to buy medicines when they would fall ill.

Private health insurance.

There would be many insurance companies that would offer healthcare coverage to Filipinos. The PhilHealth system is quickly improving, but then to have that boost of extra coverage, especially when they would be needing to be confined in the hospital.

An example of a good healthcare insurance provider would be Kaiser International Health. Kaiser would have many health insurance products that would cater to the needs of a family or individual. Whatever healthcare needs you would have, most likely, Kaiser would have a product that can answer to that healthcare need.

Although healthcare in our country has come a long way in the last twenty years, it would still be a good idea to invest in a private health care insurance plan. You and your family would already have coverage thanks to PhilHealth, and that would account for around half of the medical expenses you would have, however at this point, it is still not enough.

For you to make sure that you and your family do not go bankrupt just trying to stay healthy, buying health insurance from Kaiser will make sure that you have all the funds you need in case a medical emergency would arise. 

The advantage of having a health insurance policy

With a health insurance policy from Kaiser, you will need not worry about crowded public hospitals again. No more needing to worry about not having enough money to go to the doctor. You can have peace of mind knowing that your family will receive only top-notch service from the best hospitals because of your health insurance.