[OPINION] Patients in the Philippines don't have to face medical bankruptcy

A man who contributed to PhilHealth for 25 years died seven hours after arriving at a hospital. His family’s tragedy should force the Philippines to ask a difficult question: Have we built the right model for universal healthcare?

Just 2,000 kilometers away, Thailand made a different promise to its citizens more than two decades ago. A patient arrives at the hospital with a national ID card. Treatment begins. The government pays.

Consider the following analogy: Two men suffer the same medical emergency. A sudden brain hemorrhage. Both are rushed to the emergency room. Both need urgent surgery. Both families are terrified. But the next few hours unfold very differently.

In Thailand, the family asks: “How soon can the doctors start?”

In the Philippines, the family may ask: “How much will this cost? How much will PhilHealth cover? How can we raise the money?”