Pandemic seen increasing health expenditures for senior citizens

By Cai Ordinario, BusinessMirror, 22 Aug 2020

Elderly Filipinos could account for more than 20 percent of the country’s total health expenditures this year due to Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Based on the 2018 Philippine National Health Accounts (PNHA), health expenditures for individuals aged 60 and above already accounted for 22 percent of the total current health expenditures.

PSA Assistant National Statistician Vivian R. Ilarina told the BusinessMirror that the amount could be higher this year given the ongoing pandemic and the elderly’s susceptibility to Covid-19.

“We can assume that those vulnerable in 2018 above 60 years old and over are the same set of old people in 2020. Those with hypertension, diabetes, etc., in 2018 will have the same diseases,” Ilarina said via SMS.

“Some of them may have died but there could also be additional people who joined the age group. Now that we have Covid-19, the spending will be higher,” she added.

Based on the 2018 PNHA, a total of P171.5 billion were spent by the total population aged 60 years old and over, of which P44.4 billion are spent by the population segment with comorbidities or those with more than one illness or disease.

Total health expenditures of P101.2 billion by the vulnerable population of 60 years old and over were paid through out-of-pocket by households, consisting nearly 60 percent of the total health spending.

The remaining 40 percent were financed by social health insurance scheme (or the PhilHealth) at P32.5 billion; domestic revenue-based or central government scheme at P16.3 billion; and other financing, e.g., HMOs, etc., at P21.5 billion.

Data also showed that Filipino senior citizens spent a third or 33 percent worth P56.6 billion on medicines.

The other primary expenses of seniors were spent on hospitals. About 25.4 percent or P43.5 billion were spent on private general hospitals while 22.2 percent or P38.1 billion were spent in public general hospitals.

Based on the PNHA, PSA estimated that the per capita health spending of Filipinos in 2018 grew by 6.6 percent to P7,496. In real terms, per capita health expenditure of Filipinos amounted to P6,391.

More than half or 50.1 percent of out of pocket expenses worth P206.7 billion were spent on pharmacies. Hospitals received the second-largest amount of OOP, at P148.8 billion.

The bulk of hospital expenditures went to private general hospitals, at P108 billion, followed by providers of ambulatory health care at P55.7 billion or 13.5 percent, and providers of ancillary services at P1.7 billion or less than 1 percent.

With this, households still accounted for the bulk of the health expenses made in the country.

Of the P766.86 billion health spending made in 2018, more than half or 58.6 percent or P449.17 billion was spent by households.

The national government only spent 29.8 percent or P228.86 billion of the total, while health spending of corporations was 2.6 percent or P20.11 billion in 2018.