BUTUAN CITY, Philippines (PIA) – The office of the Department of Health (DoH) in the Caraga Region headed by Director Leonita Gorgolon disclosed that the DoH is strengthening its Universal Health Care approach for all Filipinos, especially in Region 13.

This was learned during the recent Regional Development Council–Social Development Committee (RDC-SDC) meeting chaired by Gorgolon, where focal persons from various government agencies and representatives from the local government units (LGUs) attended.

According to Dr. Ceasar Cassion of the DoH, the Universal Health Care is an approach that aims to address inequities in health outcomes by ensuring that all Filipinos, especially those belonging to the lowest two income quintiles have equitable access to quality health care.

With this approach, the DoH looks into the six instruments that needs to be monitored – Health Financing, Policy Standards and Regulation, Health Information, Service Delivery, Health Human Resource, and Governance for Health.

“In Universal Health Care, the DoH implements the three strategic thrusts – Improve financial risk protection through improvements in the National Health Insurance Program (NHIP) benefit delivery, Achieve health-related Millennium Development Goal–Max (MDG-Max) targets, and Improve access to quality health care facilities,” Cassion said.

According to Cassion, the thrusts are based on President Aquino’s Health Agenda – Achieving Health Care for All Filipinos or Kalusugan Pangkalahatan – like Rapid Expansion in NHIP enrollment and benefit delivery using national subsidies for the poorest families, Improved access to quality hospitals and health care facilities through accelerated upgrading of public health facilities, and Attainment of health related MDGs by applying all effort and resources in localities with high concentration of families unable to receive critical public health services (GIDA).

Cassion also said the DoH is undergoing the following financial risk protection strategies – increasing resources for health, sustaining membership in social health insurance for all Filipinos, allocating resources according to most appropriate financing agent, shifting to new provider payment mechanisms, and securing fiscal autonomy of health facilities.

“To achieve the MDG-Max, the DoH is deploying Community Health Teams, utilizing the life course approach in providing needed services to family planning, ante-natal care, delivery in health facilities, essential newborn and immediate postpartum care, and Garantisadong Pambata package for children zero to 14 years of age,” said Cassion.

With this development, it was learned that the DoH targets to achieve an improved overall health status of Filipinos, reduced out of pocket expenditures, and an improved client satisfaction and responsiveness of the health system.