Healthcare

For many of us, retirement from our regular jobs can bring a lot of fears and insecurities. One big worry for senior citizens is affordable healthcare.

During the years we were working for some company or entrepreneur, we took our healthcare coverage for granted. Then, all of a sudden, that healthcare coverage is gone… and at a time we need it most.

 That’s the big problem with our current system. We face the danger of having to beg for help to cover healthcare costs in our golden years. Even if we have saved or received a good retirement package, inflation can eat up what little you may earn on investment accounts. 

Sure, we have PhilHealth. But PhilHealth benefits are hardly enough. I was covering the Senate when then senator Freddie Webb sponsored the law creating it. I thought it was a good idea, and still do. But it is not enough. Mabuti na lang sa wala. 

With all the bright minds in the banking, insurance and finance industries, no one thought of a financial product that would encourage people to save, specifically for healthcare after retirement. It has to be a specific purpose product that pays for all, or most medical bills upon retirement so that it is one worry a senior citizen need not have. 

People are living longer lives these days. If you retire at 60, you can expect to live at least 30 years more. The United Nations estimates that, between 2015-2030, there will be a 56 percent increase in the elderly population. That makes it even more necessary to have the means to cover future healthcare costs.

I have two aunts on my mother’s side who are now in their mid-90s. There used to be four of them, but two recently died, one in her 90s and the other in her mid 80s.

My mother-in-law is 94 years old and should be around a few more years. But her healthcare costs are worrisome. Every time she gets confined for pneumonia and its complications, a million pesos would barely cover ICU, hospital room costs, laboratory, medicines, professional fees and other related expenses.

Luckily, she has savings, thanks to my wife who is managing her finances. But seeing the financial demands of her healthcare is a major cause of insecurity for me.

It seems no matter how much savings you may have, one catastrophic illness and you can be wiped out. You cannot tell your children to just let you die. They will spare no expense to keep you alive.

This insecurity about health costs is largely a middle class one. The government takes care of the poor somehow. They don’t always get the best care but between PhilHealth and the Sweepstakes office, they get by.

The rich… they can afford to get the best medical care abroad. 

Anyway, rich, poor or middle class, we all have to live with the healthcare system we have now. While we have some of the world’s best doctors, there is a very real shortage of adequate facilities in terms of hospital beds and the latest in medical equipment to help diagnose and manage cases.

Indeed, if you happen to suffer a stroke or a heart attack outside of Metro Manila, Metro Cebu and Metro Davao, you will be within minutes trying to convince St. Peter to let you in at Heaven’s Gate. Even in the metro areas, with the traffic situation and the lack of emergency ambulances with adequately trained emergency medical technicians, you will be dead too.  

Even our popular tourist resorts, like Boracay, are sadly lacking in adequate facilities for medical emergencies. Here is how one doctor in an e-group I am in puts it:

“Every heart attack in Boracay is ‘massive’. E kasi namatay. In truth, that’s pretty much the story for the rest of the archipelago. Health care in Boracay is a reflection of a national attitude regarding its priorities. Health care is not one of them.

“Hindi naman ??? Let’s compare with some Asean resorts.

“As you enter the township of Ha Long Bay (Vietnam) – an imposing building greets the visitor, the size of the new Makati Med, it is one of a few hospitals; Phuket (Thailand) has 10 hospitals – six are all-service; Bali (Indonesia) has three general hospitals; Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia) – four including the world famous Gleneagles of Singapore. Heart attacks in these resorts are hardly ever ‘massive’ – l can assure you.”

I got to think about healthcare in this country after reading the transcript of a speech recently delivered by Jaime Zobel de Ayala in a Metrobank Foundation symposium at the Ateneo in Rockwell. It is an exhaustive speech that covers much of what must be done to improve healthcare delivery for Filipinos.

I don’t have space to report all of what JAZA said in this column today. Suffice it to say I agree with him that “healthcare is an industry that is ripe for disruption and reinvention, with great potential for more inclusive innovation.

“Globally, countries have struggled with how to provide better healthcare at lower costs, amidst evolving market demands. Healthcare systems around the world must grapple with shifts to an aging population, a growing number of chronic diseases, and greater demand for patient-centered care.”

In a future column, I will cover what JAZA described as the Ayala Group’s response to our healthcare delivery problems. JAZA talked about “building an integrated healthcare ecosystem… with retail health services at the forefront, creating affordable, last-mile access to millions of Filipinos.

“We envision over 1,000 Generika pharmacies, 100 FamilyDOC clinics, and strategic partnerships with hospitals and specialty centers, tied together by innovative technology, to create a seamless experience and an integrated network.”

It’s a start, and hopefully others will pick up on JAZA’s healthcare initiative because government simply cannot do it all.

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. Follow me on Twitter @boochanco.