Philippine health officials, with support from Thailand’s NHSO and the World Bank, are studying global budgets, DRG systems, and electronic claims to cut out-of-pocket costs and advance universal health care. Lessons from Thai hospitals aim to guide PhilHealth’s DRG transition by 2025.
Philippine health experts and government agencies are looking to strengthen the country’s capacity to deliver universal health care by modernizing provider-payment systems, adopting global budgets, and improving hospital information systems. In late August 2025, the Philippine Institute for Development Studies-Health Economics and Finance Program (PIDS-HEFP) joined the Department of Health (DOH), PhilHealth, and the Commission on Audit (COA) in a bilateral dialogue with Thailand’s National Health Security Office (NHSO) in Bangkok. The event, co-organized with the World Bank, drew lessons from Thailand’s reforms that can serve as models for the implementation of a Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) inpatient classification system mandated under the Philippine Healthcare Act.
Thailand’s experience in pairing DRGs with regionally allocated global budgets stood out as a potential framework for adapting the Philippine system. Thai officials demonstrated how electronic transfers, through the Smart Money Transfer system, support timely and accurate healthcare claims, while layered audits enforce accountability, protect budgets, and improve data quality. Delegates also explored how Thailand ensures fairness and efficiency in health service delivery, including measures like no-balance-billing policies, no-fault patient compensation mechanisms, and strict penalties for late claims submission.
The Philippine delegation visited the Thai Case-Mix Center and Bang Pa-In Hospital to observe DRG applications along the patient care journey, examining their role in governance, audit mechanisms, and hospital operations. This hands-on exposure reinforced how provider-payment reforms directly shape hospital performance and patient access.
This initiative builds on a 2023 PhilHealth-PIDS study tour to Thailand, which had already begun providing technical guidance for the Philippines’ transition to DRGs. The most recent dialogue extended discussions to involve more stakeholders, including hospitals and professional societies, to ensure that reforms are both technically sound and contextually adapted. Ultimately, these engagements aim to reduce Filipinos’ out-of-pocket payments, strengthen financial sustainability, and enable a smoother shift toward universal health care delivery.
