National Health Insurance or NHI is a major vehicle in achieving Universal Health Coverage. The three most populated countries in Southeast Asia – Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam – have NHI entities geared toward covering the most number of people and protecting them from financial risk associated with health care costs. The three countries face similar challenges in expanding coverage and making insurance work for all people. The Philippines leads in terms of coverage but lags behind in terms of financial risk protection, with the highest reported out-of-pocket payments or OOP. While Vietnam and Indonesia can learn from the Philippines on its approach to increase coverage, the Philippines can likewise get information from the two other countries on how to reduce OOP. Taking advantage of information technology and maximizing the participation of the private sector are two other avenues that should be explored. Besides improving coverage and financial risk protection, the three countries have to encourage the establishment of more health facilities and promote the quality of health care.>>read complete document
