Health is recognized as a human right by the 1987 Philippine Constitution, which declares that “the State shall protect and promote the right to health of the people.” To this end, remarkable progress has been made towards the achievement of universal health coverage (UHC) in the Philippines over the last decade. Currently, the national health insurance programme (NHIP), administered by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), covers 85 per cent of the population, including more than 18 million workers in the informal economy and their dependents. Rapid expansion of population coverage was supported by sin tax revenues, demonstrating the important role of collectively financed mechanisms to cover the costs of accessing health care.

This country brief is part of the country briefs series: Social Protection in action: building social protection floors for all.