The EU-ASEAN Business Council, KPMG in Singapore and SANOFI have joined hands to launch a paper on sustainable financing for healthcare in ASEAN on 9 March 2020. The report talks about the burden faced by ASEAN healthcare systems due to evolving demographics, including the whole system inefficiencies that fail to maximize existing healthcare budgets as well as the unsustainable financing base from which they are built. It also identifies global solutions with ASEAN context that can help to resolve the healthcare system inefficiencies, such as ramping up prevention efforts, exploring the nextgen healthcare service delivery models, and overhauling purchasing techniques so as to properly recognize the value that innovation brings to the market.
In addition, the report revisits the core financing assumptions of ASEAN healthcare systems including composite tax + contribution revenue schemes, the role of private insurance, more effective risk pooling, and emerging platforms like social impact bonds. The paper proposes a sustainable wireframe for the healthcare ecosystem in ASEAN to adopt and integrate as part of their financial planning and costings for the future.
The Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) has a combined population of nearly 650 million people and is projected to be the world’s fourth largest economy by 2050. Health expenditure in the region is expected to rise rapidly due to factors such as an ageing population, increase in prevalence of lingering infectious diseases, as well as the emergence of lifestyle-related noncommunicable diseases. All ASEAN countries will officially become aged societies, with more than 7% of the population being 65 years or older, within the next 20 years.
(Sources: EU-ASEAN Business Council; BioSpectrum Asia)
