Universal health coverage: how public and private stakeholders can get us there faster

04 May 2022

“To achieve and sustain access to quality primary health care services for all consumers, our health system needs to engage, optimize, and mobilize both the public
and private sectors to provide primary health care services.”  —Kenneth Ronquillo, Assistant Secretary Department of Health

Our team in the Philippines held a forum that brought together public and private stakeholders to discuss the current state of Health Care Provider Networks (HCPNs) in the country and identify possible opportunity areas to engage private sector partners and increase their participation in HCPNs.  

During PSPH Series 2 Back on Track, Full Speed Ahead: Engaging Private Providers in HCPN, Kenneth Ronquillo, Assistant Secretary Department of Health, recalled that it had been two years since the UHC Bill became law—ensuring citizens have access to all the health care they need without financial hardship. Yet, there is still room to develop guidelines to improve the health system goals.

Though private and public stakeholders have been taking strides towards more co-equal participation of private healthcare providers in HCPNs. The three sessions in this forum further created an opportunity for stakeholders to identify ways to improve public-private partnerships, an information-sharing platform, fund pooling and purchasing mechanisms, and capacity development of private sector partners to be engaged in HCPNs. 

Watch the sessions here and learn more about our work in the Philippines here. 

Many thanks to all participants who took part in the conversation and helped explore concrete opportunities to move UHC forward.

AC Health
Antique Provincial Health Office
Antique Provincial DOH Office
Asian Development Bank Philippines
Commission on Population and Development
DOH Bureau of Local Health Systems Development
DKT International
Family Planning Organization of the Philippines
Guimaras Provincial Health Office
Guimaras Provincial DOH Office
Integrated Midwives Association Of The Philippines
Likhaan Center for Women’s Health
Mt. Grace Hospitals, Inc.
PhilHealth
Philippine Center for Population and Development
Philippine Primary Care Studies of the University of the Philippines
The Medical City
UNFPA Philippines