Health spending surpasses P1 trillion level in 2021

MANILA, Philippines — Healthcare spending in the country rose by nearly a fifth to over P1 trillion last year amid the pandemic, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

According to PSA data, the country’s total health spending reached P1.09 trillion in 2021, 18.5 percent higher than the previous year’s P917.5 billion.

“This increment was faster than the 12.8 percent growth registered in the previous year,” it said.

On average, every Filipino spent P9,839.23 for healthcare goods and services last year – a 17 percent increase from  P8,411.52 in 2020.

Meanwhile, gross health capital formation expenditure amounted to P71.15 billion in 2021, down 19.6 percent from the previous year’s P88.54 billion.

The share of the total health expenditures to the country’s gross domestic  product at current prices improved to six percent last year from 5.6 percent in 2020.

Of the healthcare spending in 2021, the bulk or 50.3 percent came from government schemes and compulsory contributory health care financing programs amounting to P546.64 billion. The figure was 29.7 percent higher than the P421.43 billion in 2020.

Household out-of-pocket payment came second with a 41.5 percent share, amounting to P451 billion last year, up 9.2 percent from  P412.97 billion in 2020.

This was followed by voluntary health care payment schemes, which had an 8.2-percent share amounting to P89.35 billion last year, also higher than the P82.75 billion in 2020.

Among health care providers, hospitals received the bulk of the health expenditures amounting to P453.23 billion or a 41.7 percent share.

Retailers and other providers of medical goods came next with a 26.2 percent share amounting to P284.70 billion.

Providers of health care system administration and financing placed third with a 14.8 percent share amounting to P160.44 billion.