Yes, somewhat.
Those who can afford switched to private health insurance, but majority stuck to Philhealth. This is a government-owned and controlled corporation in the Philippines and every Filipino is automatically considered a registered member entitled to immediate health services, either you’re employed in public or private sector.
However, I noticed that despite the growing awareness of getting insured, a significant portion of the population lacks awareness about how health insurance works.Because of information gaps, many Filipinos assume that all coverage plans are prohibitively expensive and choose not to allocate scarce funds toward them, specially those working in informal sectors such as sari-sari store owners, farmers, fishers, tricycle drivers, etc.
Aside from that, some Filipinos also dissatisfied with anything under the government supervision due to corruption. And personally I view Philhealth as a scam, sorry but another scammy scheme from the government. The illusion of a person being insured and getting covered once a health emergency arise is not as simple as that. Imagine you pay the premium for say, 25 years, only to find out that you can’t rely on that due to many inadequacies. They only give you an amount to pay paracetamol, heheh. And there, the complexity of the procedure that frequently result in denied claims and delayed reimbursements for both hospitals and patients, to the point that..(don’t freak out) some hospitals will keep the patient (or a body) like a hostage if the family won’t pay the required amount.
In the remote part of the country where its difficult to access immediate health care, this is mostly happening there;
Filipino older adults tend to cope with illness with the help of family and friends, and by faith in God. They gather to pray for the sick person or sometimes, they seek the help of arbularyos or quack doctors.
An albularyo is a Tagalog term for a traditional Filipino folk healer who acts as a "general practitioner" using a blend of herbal medicine, spiritual interventions, and rituals. They are deeply ingrained in Filipino culture, frequently serving as accessible primary healthcare providers, especially in rural communities across the archipelago.
