Healthcare costs in Philippines push Filipinos to work abroad, report finds

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June 19, 2026 | 4:18pm

MANILA, Philippines — Sixty-four percent of Filipino families cannot afford a P10,000 hospital bill without going into debt, pushing many Filipino workers to seek better income abroad just to secure access to basic healthcare, according to a new report.

The Boston Consulting Group surveyed 1,337 overseas Filipino workers across the United States, the Middle East, Asia and the United Kingdom in June 2025. It found that access to healthcare was among the main forces behind their decision to work abroad.

Based on the report, financial security that can guarantee access to health services during medical emergencies is a top priority for 70% of Filipino families. However, most respondents also admitted they struggle to pay even small emergency health expenses.

Twenty percent of respondents said they could pay less than P1,000 for a medical emergency without borrowing money or using health insurance. Twenty-eight percent said they could pay only up to P5,000, while 16% said they could afford up to P10,000.

"For many households, getting sick is a major financial event just as much as it is a medical event, which can mean debt, delayed tuition, or rapidly eroded savings," the report said.

Health workers, health worries

The report noted that Filipinos make up 60% of nurses in the United Arab Emirates, supporting the medical system of a major global economy.

It also found that many of them are older Filipino workers whose main motivation for working abroad is earning more income for their family’s health needs.

"The OFW, then, is one of the family’s most important forms of insurance, strengthening the family against fragility by leaving it," the report said.

The report grouped the 1,337 OFW respondents into four clusters: Long-Haul Guardians, or older OFWs; Family Lifelines, or millennial breadwinners; Anchored Earners, or older Gen Z workers to millennials who treat overseas work as temporary; and Self-Builders, or younger millennials seeking to build their own life abroad.

While all clusters identified "higher income potential" and "overall quality of life" as their main reasons for working abroad, the report found that Long-Haul Guardians were the most concerned about the health of family members left in the Philippines. Forty-three percent of them said this was their top concern.

A majority of Long-Haul Guardians, described by the report as "emotionally depleted Gen X OFWs," work in the Middle East. Healthcare was among the top three industries where they work.

Based on the report, Long-Haul Guardians were the only OFW cluster with healthcare among their top three industries. Younger OFWs were more concentrated in construction, hospitality and food services.

In the Philippines, the government allocated P448.125 billion for the health sector in the 2026 national budget. Economic think tank IBON Foundation, however, criticized the amount, saying it remains "far from the 5% standard" of the World Health Organization.

Medical emergencies and debt

Medical emergencies accounted for 40% of the most recent loans of OFWs, indicating that unexpected health concerns were also the top reason Filipino workers abroad resorted to borrowing.

Medical emergencies were also the top reason for extra remittances among respondents. In the past year, 39% of OFWs in the US, 31% in the Middle East, 46% in Asia and 56% in the United Kingdom said they had to send extra money to families in the Philippines to pay for emergency medical expenses.

Share of OFWs who said they sent additional money in the past year to cover relatives’ emergency medical costs

The report noted that OFW remittances are the third-largest source of foreign currency inflows in the Philippines, equivalent to 7% of gross domestic product, with overseas cash remittances reaching $35.6 billion in 2025.

"The Philippines has become increasingly dependent on the support that overseas Filipinos send home," the report said.