UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE ACT

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
MASTER GUIDE

GENERAL

1. What is Universal Health Care?

UHC means all Filipinos are guaranteed equitable access to quality and affordable health
care goods and services, and protected against financial risk. President Duterte signed R.A.
11223 or the Universal Health Care Act into law last February 20, 2019. The UHC Act
contains comprehensive and progressive reforms that will ensure every Filipino is healthy,
protected from health hazards and risks, and has access to affordable, quality, and readily
available health service that is suitable to their needs.

2. Who will benefit from the UHC Act?

All Filipinos will benefit from the UHC Act. The government will ensure that the wellbeing
and health needs of all Filipinos, especially those of the vulnerable population, will be
addressed.

3. How will the UHC Act ensure that every Filipino has access to quality and affordable
health care?
Every Filipino should be able to access preventive, promotive, curative, rehabilitative, and
palliative health services. The UHC Act will improve and strengthen existing health sector
processes and systems by highlighting primary care close to families and communities,
supported by hospitals that are contracted as part of a network, and making PhilHealth
membership automatic for every Filipino. This will eventually lead to the establishment of
better networks of providers and facilities, making health accessible for all.

4. Will all health services be free through UHC?

One of the goals of the UHC Act is to decrease the out-of-pocket expenses of families. This
means that some health services may become more affordable, but not everything will be
free. At the very least, the prices of health goods and services will be predictable and
affordable.

Depending on the available budget, such as additional revenue from tobacco, alcohol, and
sugar-sweetened beverage taxes, and the value-based decisions of health technology
assessment, DOH and PhilHealth will design benefits for this.

5. What do you mean by a primary care-focused health system?

In a primary care-focused health system, the frontline of health services will be strengthened
so that every Filipino will have a trusted primary care provider. The primary care provider
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will be the initial and continuing point-of-contact of patients/clients with the health system.
He/She will provide the needed basic health services. If higher-level health services are
needed, the primary care provider will navigate patients/clients to a health care provider that
can give the appropriate care. By providing clinical leadership and guidance, hospitals may
influence the design of these primary care services while allowing them to focus on more
complicated cases.

6. When will the UHC Act be operationalized?

The IRR is expected to be approved by September 2019. Initially, there are 33 advanced
implementation sites preparing for the roll-out of UHC in 2020, to be followed by two more
batches of implementation sites to cover the country in the subsequent years.

7. What should provinces/HUCs/ICCs that are not AI Sites do to enact the UHC Act?

LGUs that are not AI Sites may take the initiative to implement the various provisions of the
UHC Act as they deem necessary. Further, they are encouraged to join the succeeding
batches of AI Sites in order for DOH and PHIC to provide them the appropriate support in
integrating their health systems.

FINANCING

1. Are all Filipinos members of PhilHealth? Do families still need to register/enlist with
PhilHealth?
All Filipinos are now members of PhilHealth. Families who are not yet registered/enlisted
with PhilHealth will be assisted by their health care provider with the next steps.

2. Is the PhilHealth ID required in availing benefits?

No. A Philhealth identification card is not required to avail of any health services.

3. Do we need to pay contributions to PhilHealth?

Under the UHC Act, ​Direct Contributors are those who have the capacity to pay
premiums, such as employees, self-earning, professional practitioners, migrant workers,
including their qualified dependents, and lifetime members. They will have to pay
PhilHealth contributions.

All others not mentioned above are considered as ​Indirect Contributors. They include
indigents identified by the DSWD, beneficiaries of the Conditional Cash Transfer Program,
and those identified in special groups, such as senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and
Sangguniang Kabataan officers. Their monthly payment in PhilHealth are covered by the
national government.

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4. What will happen if a direct contributor fails to pay monthly premium to PhilHealth?
A direct contributor who failed to pay premiums can still avail of PhilHealth. However,
he/she will have to pay missed contributions with an interest compounded monthly.

The interest penalty for employers will not be less than 3%; the interest penalty for
self-earning, professional practitioners and migrant workers will not be less than 1.5%.
5. Will the PhilHealth premium contribution increase?
Over the next five years, PhilHealth will gradually increase premium rates for direct
contributors, while providing corresponding increase in benefits. Direct contributors will
have to pay the premium according to the following rates:

Year Premium Rate Income Floor Income Ceiling

2019 2.75% P10,000.00 P50,000.00
2020 3.00% P10,000.00 P60,000.00
2021 3.50% P10,000.00 P70,000.00
2022 4.00% P10,000.00 P80,000.00
2023 4.50% P10,000.00 P90,000.00
2024 5.00% P10,000.00 P100,000.00
2025 5.00% P10,000.00 P100,000.00

To illustrate, in 2019, a direct contributor who earns less than P10,000.00 per month will
pay P275.00 PhilHealth premium per month (for those who are formally employed, this will
be split between the employer and employee). Those earning between P10,000.00 and
P50,000.00 per month will have 2.75% of their earnings paid as PhilHealth premium per
month (with similar sharing between employer and employee). Those earning above
P50,000.00 per month will pay P1,375.00 premium per month (with similar sharing between
employer and employee).

6. How do we define population-based and individual-based services?

Individual-based health services refer to services which can be accessed within a health
facility or that can be definitively traced back to one (1) recipient. Population-based health
services refer to interventions which have population groups as recipient, e.g. health
promotion, disease surveillance and vector control.

7. Why is there a need to distinguish services into population-based and

individual-based?
Population-based and individual-based health services require different financing
mechanisms. To avoid overlap and increase efficiency, financing roles must be clearly

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delineated. In addition, population-based and individual-based health services are divided in
such a way that ensures accountability of assigned agencies.

8. How will the province-wide and city-wide health systems ​ensure the financing of health
services?
Province-wide and city-wide health systems will pool and manage the various sources of
funding for health, such as DOH assistance, PhilHealth payments, donations, etc., in a
Special Health Fund (SHF). The SHF can be used to finance both population-based and
individual-based health services, health system operating costs, capital investments and
remuneration of additional health workers and incentives for all health workers.

9. Is PhilHealth a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)?

No. PhilHealth is a social health insurance agency. It is neither a health maintenance
organization nor a private health insurance firm.

10. What is the role of private sector financing agents in financing health services under
the UHC Act?
Under the Act, private sector financing agents such as HMOs and private health insurance
will offer complementary (offering benefits that cover services or diagnostic-groups that
PhilHealth is unable to) or supplementary (offering benefits that pay for shares of the
hospital bill that PhilHealth is unable to) benefit packages to patients.

11. What are the sources of funds for health financing under the UHC Act?
Here are the fund sources that can be tapped to finance the implementation of the UHC Act:
a. Increasing revenues from tobacco, alcohol, sugar-sweetened beverages taxes
b. Funds from Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), Philippine Amusement
and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), and Department of Health Medical Assistance
Program (DOH MAP), etc.
c. Annual appropriations of the DOH
d. Proposed increased premium rates and collection efficiency in Philhealth
e. Supplemental funding

SERVICE DELIVERY AND LOCAL HEALTH SYSTEMS

1. How will the UHC Act assure better service delivery especially in hard-to-reach
(GIDA) areas?
Under the UHC Act, the government will prioritize investments on health services,
infrastructures, and human resources in hard-to-reach areas. The list of the hard-to-reach
areas will be annually updated as this will become the basis for preferential licensing of
health facilities and contracting of health services (Sec. 29a).

2. What does “essential health benefit package” mean?

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Essential health benefit package refers to a set of individual-based entitlements covered by
the PhilHealth which includes primary care; medicines, diagnostic and laboratory; and
promotive, preventive, curative, and rehabilitative services (Sec. 4i).

3. What is a health care provider network (HCPN)? What is the difference between the
health care provider network (HCPN) and province-wide or city-wide health system
(P/CWHS)?
The health care provider network (HCPN) refers to a group of primary to tertiary care
providers, whether public or private, offering people-centered and comprehensive care in an
integrated and coordinated manner with the primary care provider acting as the navigator
and coordinator of health care within the network (Sec.4l).

The province or city-wide health system, on the other hand, refers to the organization of
people, institutions, and resources accountable for the delivery, management, and financing
of health services to meet the health and health-related needs of the population within the
jurisdictional boundaries of the province/city. Municipal and component city health systems
shall comprise the province-wide health system while HUCs and ICCs shall have
independent city-wide health systems (Sec. 19). A province/city-wide health system may
form part of or encompass more than one health care provider network, depending on its
land area, population, or service capacity.

4. As a current patient of a specialist, am I required to go to a primary care provider?

You may still retain your specialist doctor, but after he/she is able to treat you, you must be
referred back to a primary care provider. A specialist can be certified as a primary care
provider provided that he/she must receive a certification in primary care as determined by
the Department of Health.

However during emergencies, you can consult directly with any physician (generalist or
specialist) most accessible in your area.

5. Are government physicians automatically considered as primary care providers?

Government physicians can be certified primary care providers. The DOH will prepare a
mechanism to recognize and certify the abilities of government physicians to deliver
primary care.

6. How will individual providers (e.g. professionals) be engaged in the health care
provider networks?
Individual providers must agree to come together and formalize a network arrangement by
way of a legal instrument, such as incorporation or partnership. PhilHealth will then contract
these patient-centered health care provider networks with legal identity. Clinics, diagnostic
labs and drug outlets, along with hospitals need to work together, whether public or private,

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to deliver effective and efficient care. Various mechanisms for partnership may then be
explored.

7. How will health promotion and preventive services be prioritized?

Section 30 of the UHC Act is about health promotion. The existing Health Promotion and
Communication Service of DOH will be transformed and strengthened into a Health
Promotion Bureau with an adequate budget to improve health literacy and mainstream
health promotion and protection.

The schools under the supervision of the Department of Education (DepEd) shall formulate
programs and modules on health literacy and rights to be integrated into the existing school
curricula. This will intensify the fight against the spread of communicable diseases and
increase in prevalence of non-communicable diseases through the effective promotion of
healthy lifestyle among students, including but not limited to, physical activity, proper
nutrition, and prevention of smoking and alcohol consumption.

Furthermore, the LGUs shall enact stricter ordinances that strengthen and broaden existing
health policies and implement effective programs. This will promote health literacy and
healthy lifestyle among their constituencies to advance population health and individual
wellbeing, reduce the prevalence of non-communicable diseases and their risk factors,
particularly tobacco and alcohol use, lower the incidence of new infectious diseases, address
mental health issues and improve health indicators.

HUMAN RESOURCES FOR HEALTH

1. How will the UHC Act comprehensively address issues of Human Resources for
Health?
The following mechanisms will ensure that there will be enough human resources in the
different levels of the health sector:
a) National Health Resource Master Plan
b) National Health Workforce Support System
c) Scholarship and Training Program
d) Return Service Agreement

2. Will doctors, nurses, midwives and others under the DOH Deployment Program be
hired under plantilla position?
Under the UHC Act, all health professionals and health care workers will be guaranteed
permanent employment and competitive salaries (Chapter VI, Section 23). Mechanisms and
processes of this provision are being discussed with the Department of Budget and
Management in so far as public sector health workers are concerned.

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REGULATION

1. Will there be reductions in the types of benefits that are currently being given by
PhilHealth?
There will be no reductions in the currently implemented benefit packages under PhilHealth.
However, under the UHC Act, the benefit development process will now undergo Health
Technology Assessment to ensure that interventions funded by Philhealth are cost-effective.

2. What is the purpose of accreditation under the UHC Act?

Accreditation will follow a rating system to acknowledge better service quality, efficiency
and equity. PhilHealth shall recognize third party accreditation mechanisms and may use
these as basis for granting incentives (Sec. 27a). This is different from contracting which is a
function of service delivery.

3. Does the UHC Act set maximum retail prices for drugs sold to the public?
Under the UHC Act, DOH is mandated to prescribe mark-ups on drugs and medical devices
sold in DOH owned healthcare facilities. However, PHIC may also use the mark-ups
prescribed by the DOH for other health facilities it contracts, whether public or private.

4. Are pharmacies or drug outlets required to have generic medicines available at all
times?
Yes. All drugs are required to carry and offer to the public generic drug equivalent of all
drugs in accordance to the existing laws- the Generics Act of 1988 and the Cheaper
Medicines Act of 2008. Under the UHC act, this was further strengthened, mandating drug
outlets to carry generics, particularly fair priced unbranded generics for all drugs addressing
the common diseases in the community as contained in the Primary Care Formulary.

GOVERNANCE

1. Why should health promotion be mainstreamed?

We always say that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. In practical terms,
the cost of instituting health promotion and prevention is less than the cost of paying for
treatment and hospitalization. There are several health interventions that can be done at the
level of families and communities, even before the patient contacts the health system. Health
promotion will empower and capacitate Filipinos on how to take charge of their own health.

2. What does UHC Act provide in terms of health information systems?

Health service providers and insurers are mandated to maintain a health information system
consisting of enterprise resource planning, human resource information, electronic health
records, and electronic prescription log subject to relevant provisions of Data Privacy Act of
2012 (Sec. 36).

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3. What is Health Technology Assessment (HTA)?
HTA refers to the systematic evaluation of health interventions developed to solve a health
problem and improve quality of lives and health outcomes. It uses a multidisciplinary
process to evaluate the social, economic, organizational and ethical issues of
a health intervention or health technology (Sec. 4n).

4. Why does the health system need HTA?

With the growing demand for health care and the limited resources, priority setting is crucial
in the health system. HTA will serve as the primary tool in ensuring that health services and
goods provided by the government are cost effective.

5. What is the scope of HTA?

HTA will cover drugs, vaccines, medical devices, medical equipment, medical and surgical
procedures, preventive, and promotive health services, traditional medicine and other
health-related interventions that are seeking coverage or funding in the public sectors (Sec.
4n).

6. Will HTA determine health conditions to be covered?

HTA will not determine conditions to be covered but it will identify interventions that are
cost-effective for each condition.

7. Will the HTA results be recommendatory or binding?

HTA results and evidence generated by the researchers are appraised and used by the expert
advisory councils to make their recommendations to the Secretary of Health. Only health
technologies with a positive recommendation by the HTA council will be adopted by DOH
and PhilHealth (Sec. 34a).

8. What is health impact assessment (HIA)?

Health Impact Assessment (HIA) will evaluate policies, programs, and projects that are
crucial in attaining better health outcomes or those that may have an impact on the health
sector. It is different from HTA.

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