EDITORIAL - Free medicine

Filipinos are no different; a survey conducted last December by pollster Social Weather Stations showed that 96 percent of respondents believed the government “should definitely” or “should probably” provide free medicines.

Not even the wealthiest countries, however, can afford this. Instead, countries have varying degrees of universal health care, with some providing full coverage of costs for prescription drugs and a wide range of medical services including complex surgeries for all income classes. Others provide free medicine only to the poorest citizens.

In the Philippines, the Universal Health Care Act or Republic Act 11223 was signed on Feb. 20, 2019. A year before the COVID pandemic, however, the UHC law was already burdened by funding problems. Limited funds prompted the government to opt for a gradual rollout of the UHC program, staggered over several years. But with the government’s debt currently ballooning past a whopping P12 trillion mostly to finance the pandemic response, the full implementation of the UHC law may take longer.

An alternative to full medicine coverage is to bring down drug prices. The generic drug program has offered affordable alternatives for a wide range of medications, but it still has a significant room for expansion. Many Filipinos who have traveled overseas have wondered why retail prices of medicine, vitamins and food supplements in the Philippines, including those manufactured in the country by Big Pharma, are higher than in the United States, for example, and several other advanced economies.

Apart from implementing measures to bring down medicine prices, greater effort is needed to support local pharmaceutical enterprises. In India, medical products are so affordable because of the country’s robust domestic pharmaceutical industry. Incentives for scientific research and development, access to financing particularly for start-ups, and assistance in marketing can boost the local pharmaceutical sector.

At this point, free medicine for all Filipinos will have to remain a dream. But bringing down the cost of medicines is doable and must be pursued with zeal.