AROUND 60 percent to 70 percent of medical expenses in the country still come from Filipinos’ own pocket, instead of being covered by health insurance, Health Secretary Janette Loreto-Garin said on Monday night. In her speech at the 2015 Perlas Awards of Fortune Care, Garin thanked the private sector—especially the health-maintenance organizations (HMOs)—for its contribution in making health care more accessible to all Filipinos.
She, however, pointed out that a lot more could be done by the government and the private sector in further reducing “out-of-pocket” expenses of patients.
“In our country, 60 [percent] to 70 percent of health-care expenditure is out-of-pocket expenditure, and Fortune Care’s efforts to partner with public- school teachers, with policemen, with government employees is a big help, not only in terms of reducing out-of-pocket expenditures; not only in terms of preparing them for catastrophic incidents—like a disease in the family—but more so in building our country, because a healthy Filipino is always our key toward achieving a better Philippines,” Garin said.
“Public health is not only the responsibility of the Department of Health. Public health is a responsibility of every individual. Whatever antipoverty measures our government has, these will all boil down to almost nothing if we don’t have a healthy community. Therefore, every investment that every private company has for the health care of its employees will always redound for the good of the economy of our country, and that is the great legacy that Fortune Care has contributed to health care in our country,” she added.
Fortune Care Founder and Chairman Emeritus Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua shared Garin’s insights on the importance of securing the health of Filipinos in the overall goal of reducing poverty in the country.
“Hindi ko itinuturing na negosyo itong Fortune Care [I don’t consider Fortune Care as a business], it is more of a service, sapagkat mahirap magkasakit [because it is difficult to get sick]—it’s very expensive. Kaya kailangan ay mapagsilbihan natin ang ating mga pasyente [so we need to serve our patients better],” Ambassador Cabangon Chua said in his speech.
Fortune Care Chairman and CEO J. Antonio A. Cabangon Jr. thanked the employees and sales staff of Fortune Care for their dedication and commitment, which resulted in a banner year for the company in 2014.
“Tonight, we celebrate the people who made 2014 a banner year for our company. And as we move forward, we will see more innovations that Fortune Care will institute as the industry changes. We have already seen how much more efficient and coordinated we are in servicing our patients, and there will be more innovations to come this year,” he said.
Fortune Care holds the Perlas Awards each year to honor the achievements of individual sales staff. Among those who were awarded for their work in 2014 are Norberto de Ocampo and Myra Sheila Arriola (General Agency Manager Level, first and second place, respectively); Priscila Tolentino and Merewyn Floresca (Agency Manager Level, first and second place, respectively); and Glecy Matsui and Marilou Lumban (Account Executive Level, first and second place, respectively).
Image credits: Alysa Salen