Philippine government increasing financial support for health care spending

The size of the Philippine pharmaceutical market, now worth around $3.2 billion, is expected to expand rapidly following the government’s enactment of universal health care coverage in 2013.

As access to affordable medicines improved following prior government programs like the Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines act of 2008, total health care spending increased from 342 billion Philippine pesos ($8.34 billion) in 2009 to 431 billion pesos ($10.5 billion) in 2011, according to a new report from Decision Resource.

The continued growth in health care spending and new drug benefit packages could further drive up pharmaceutical sales. The Philippine government is also looking to relieve high out-of-pocket costs by covering additional outpatient pharmaceutical expenses for chronic conditions including hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia.

Other key findings from the Philippines Market Access Tracker: