a sick system

The Philippine Health Care system is very easy to understand: if you have money, you can get treated. If you don't, sorry. Plain and simple, harsh but true, in the Philippines, a sick person can get well only if he/she has the money to buy the medicines he/she needs. That's just the way it is.

Government hospitals exist, but these hospitals can only do so much with the meager budget given to them. Health care workers are already overworked and underpaid, yet very little money is left for the maintenance of the facilities and equipment. Because of this, government hospitals can only provide service and facilities for the people; the patients have to buy their medicines and other medical supplies they'll be needing. Basically, a patient gets diagnosed in a government institution, and after that, it's up to the patient to acquire the funds to buy his medicines.

In private institutions, the patient will have to pay for everything: hospital room, medicines, diagnostics, professional fees of the doctors who treat them. Because private hospitals are forbidden by law to ask for a deposit upon admitting a patient, problems arise when the patient fails to hold his end of the bargain: pay the hospital bill. The patient gets well, and because it's forbidden (another stupid law) to detain patients because they cannot pay, he gets discharged, leaving the hospital and the doctors only his word that he'll be back with the payment. Meanwhile, where will the hospital get the money to pay for the medicines and medical supplies that the patient had used? Where will the doctor get the money to sustain his and his family's needs? The answer to both of these is the same: from other patients. Both the hospital and the doctor will now charge their other patients more.

This is how it is in the health care profession. It's sad that lawmakers are making it even harder for us by making stupid laws. The only real solution I can think of is to increase the budget for health. That way, government hospitals can do more for more needy people, and sick people won't have to resort to unethical means to get treatment.

For now, we'll have to live with what we have. Save for the rainy days, and do what we can to prevent getting sick. This is just about all we can do, really.