Browsing by Author "Villar, Kristen Gianne R."

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    Healthcare inequalities in the Philippines: analyzing urban-rural disparities and the role of Philhealth
    (2025-06-03) Tañeca, Julia Marie B.; Villar, Kristen Gianne R.; Sabarillo, Anthony G.
    Using the Wagstaff and Erreygers Concentration Indices (or WCI and ECI, respectively), this study (i) estimates inequalities in healthcare utilization within two separate populations, urban and rural households, and (ii) measures PhilHealth’s contribution to inequality within each of these groups. In 2013, the distribution of healthcare utilization was pro-poor among urban households (WCI: -0.080, ECI: - 0.076) as well as for rural households (WCI: -0.016, ECI: -0.020). In 2017, both indices show that utilization inequality among urban households was still pro-poor but to a lesser degree compared to 2013 (WCI: -0.027, ECI: -0.022), whereas it became slightly more pro-rich among rural households (WCI: 0.003, ECI: 0.006). Based on WCI decompositions, PhilHealth coverage made the distribution of healthcare utilization more favorable to the poor in terms of relative or proportional differences between wealth classes—except in rural areas in 2017. Based on ECI decompositions, PhilHealth consistently made the distribution either less pro-poor or more pro-rich in terms of absolute differences between the rich and poor. This warrants a reassessment of PhilHealth policy reforms in the 2010s, in terms of their impact on service capacity to reach the poorest and geographically isolated populations.