Taking region's temperature

"Some governments have managed to close the gaps; others have not. The point is, healthcare doesn't follow market economics of supply and demand. In most cases governments still have to intervene to correct market failures."

According to Credit Suisse analyst Anand Swaminathan, healthcare expenditure as a percentage of GDP in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries is almost three times the levels seen in ASEAN.

"Even with the rapid pace of increase in wealth levels in the ASEAN over the past 15 years, the pace of growth in healthcare expenditure continues to lag more developed countries," he said in a recent note to clients.

"ASEAN (in most cases excluding Singapore) healthcare expenditure growth is now close to achieving escape velocity and should see acceleration over the medium term (five to ten years) with various underlying drivers now falling in place."

In many parts of the region, healthcare has become big business. Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are combining quality healthcare with tourism in what has emerged as a multibillion dollar business model.

The Economist recently said private health companies "have every reason to smell an opportunity" in Asia. "Although Asia's emerging economies are slowing, the rise of their middle classes is continuing," it said.

The article also referred to a prediction from the Boston Consulting Group that in Indonesia, the number of middle－and upper-income consumers is expected to swell from 74 million in 2013 to 141 million by 2020. And rising incomes mean rising demand for healthcare.

"China, which boasts that it has extended basic medical coverage to 97 percent of its people, continues to make reforms. The Philippines is in the midst of a rapid expansion of insurance. Indonesia is in the first year of a plan to bring health coverage to the entire population by 2019," The Economist said.

A study by the United Nations University, Health and health-care systems in Southeast Asia, said many governments still face challenges providing equitable healthcare. "It could lead to undesirable outcomes whereby only the better-off will receive benefits from the liberalization of trade policy in health," the study said.

Health systems in Asia need to respond to rapid social and economic changes taking place, says Vivian Lin, director, health sector development, at the World Health Organization's Western Pacific regional office in Manila.

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