CAMARA, CHENNILLE ANN BLEU, G.

BSN2-11

REFLECTION PAPER

Topic: The Implementation of Universal Health Law in the Philippines is Expected to

Impact Public Health.

The Republic Act No. 11223, otherwise known as The Universal Health Care (UHC)
Law automatically enrolls all Filipino citizens in the National Health Insurance Program and
prescribes complementary reforms in the health system. Signed by the former President Duterte,
this law gives citizens access to the full continuum of health services they need, while protecting
them from enduring financial hardship as a result.

When I first heard of it, I was especially curious about the subject. Although I had always
found the concept of universal health care to be appealing, I was interested to know what other
people thought about it and why. I saw on the internet that some people shared my sentiments
toward universal health care, as I had anticipated. As I scroll through one site that talks about this
topic, there were some comments that were debating that piqued my interest. The conversation
started with the subject of whether we viewed health care as a right. I have always struggled with
this concept since I believed that everyone should have access to health care, but I wasn't sure if
it was a right. I've always believed that access to health care was really vital, especially since I
come from an area where adequate health care is not only difficult to find, but also impossible to
pay for if discovered. However, health care proved to be less of a basic necessity rather than
happiness or freedom. Most of the comments convinced me that it is equally important.
Happiness, freedom, and many other "basic needs" that we as a nation have are already defined
as rights.

Now on a different note, I personally believe that the government should provide
everyone with health care. The Department of Health (DOH) and local government units (LGUs)
have a key role in managing the special health fund. It emphasizes the continuing development
of implementing rules and regulations, which address concerns such as budget allocation and
healthcare improvement. Also, the country's shortage of healthcare professionals in which the
UHC law intends to address this is through initiatives such as establishing a national health
workforce support system and giving scholarship awards. This also underlines the importance of
efficient budget usage and increased health spending by both the DOH and local governments in
order to ensure the law's successful implementation and improve healthcare accessibility and
quality for all Filipinos.