Cancer is now the third leading cause of death in the Philippines and its costly treatment regimens impose a heavy burden on patients and their families.
“For many years, cancer has been one of the leading causes of death in the country. Sadly, Filipino families, even those in the upper-income brackets, are vulnerable to catastrophic health spending due to high treatment costs and limited coverage of cancer care under public programs,” said Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman during the recent Philippine National Cancer Summit.
DBM has released the 2023 Cancer Assistance Fund (CAF) amounting to P500 million to the Department of Health (DOH). The CAF aims to complement and supplement existing financial support mechanisms for various cancer care and control services that are not yet covered by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation and only partially covered by the Malasakit Program.
While there are government funds and public and private organizations offering financial aid to cancer patients, these may not be enough considering the number of cases and high cost of cancer treatment.
Affordable oncology care
RECOGNIZING this problem, AC Health President and CEO Paolo Borromeo shared how AC Health continues to work with like-minded partners, such as Siemens Healthineers and Varian, to help realize the Healthway Cancer Care Hospital’s vision of providing more affordable oncology care in the country.
AC Health’s Healthway Cancer Care Hospital, the country’s first dedicated cancer hospital, is set to open by the third quarter of this year.
“Our goal is to offer the best value private hospital for cancer care. We are working with our partners to ensure that our cancer hospital will provide very competitive rates for diagnostics, radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery to a broader base of Filipino patients,” said Borromeo.
Borromeo was one of the speakers during the cancer summit held on February 23 and 24 at Crowne Plaza Galleria, Quezon City. The event was organized by the Philippine College of Surgeons – Cancer Commission Foundation to rally stakeholders in the battle against cancer.
Collaboration
DRAWING from AC Health’s experience in putting up the country’s first dedicated cancer hospital, Borromeo spoke about the importance of collaboration between the public and private sectors in bridging the cancer care gap in the Philippines.
“I am a big believer that the private and public sectors should work hand-in-hand towards improving oncology care here in the Philippines. In no other industry is collaboration more evident than in health care, as we saw firsthand during the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Borromeo.
In the special panel discussion, “A Closer Look at Cancer Centers,” AC Health Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Maria Carissa Alejandro further elaborated on interventions in reducing the cost of cancer care and how these can be applied in building the country’s first dedicated cancer hospital.
“Health services need to go beyond pricing and focus on creating greater value for patients. We hope that the Healthway Cancer Care Hospital will serve as a model for more affordable cancer care in the Philippines,” said Alejandro.
AC Health executives said the Healthway Cancer Care Hospital has reached 75 percent completion and is set to open in the third quarter of this year in Taguig City. It will be the first comprehensive and dedicated cancer hospital in the country, offering a complete range of cancer services, from screening, diagnosis, treatment, to post-cancer care. Equipped with 18 chemotherapy infusion units, two linear accelerators (LINACs), and all the essential diagnostic and imaging machines, the hospital will be focused on improving overall patient experience and enabling multidisciplinary cancer care.