Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Friday said he favors a government policy of free medicines for the people.
However, the Secretary expressed concerns over limited resources to bankroll such program.
Duque, in a radio interview, cited the difficulty of pushing the free medicines program due to current low revenue collections from businesses and workers affected by the pandemic.
“First of all, the collection of taxes from our businesses, we know that many of them have closed. Some people lost their jobs and revenue collection is low. It would be hard to introduce this program now,” Duque said.
He indicated however, that providing free medicines for the people would be possible in a healthier economic environment.
A survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS), commissioned by the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP), showed nearly all of the citizenry opined that the government should provide free medicines.
Released on Thursday, the survey showed that 96 percent of adult respondents said the government “should definitely” provide free medicines, while 17 percent said “should probably” provide free medicines to those who need them.
The survey revealed the issues on the high out-of-pocket spending of Filipinos when it comes to healthcare, the PHAP said in a statement.
“With Filipinos paying mostly for their own medicines, the survey found that medicines ranked first as the most burdensome healthcare expense, followed by payment for doctor’s fees, laboratory fees, and hospital room if hospitalized,” the PHAP said.
The survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews with 1,440 adult respondents nationwide from December 12 to December 16, 2021.
The respondents consisted of 360 each in Luzon, Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao.
