This study examined the perception of the business owners on the implementation of Universal Health Care (UHC) Act of 2019. The study determined the respondents and business profile, perception based on the hierarchy of effects model, issues and concerns regarding UHC Act, and comparison between profile and issues and concerns. The study utilized quantitative approach with descriptive statistics and statistical tools, such as frequency, percent, mean, standard deviation, and non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test, to craft strategies to enhance the services provided by PhilHealth. The respondents were selected using random sampling where 97 business sectors were obtained from the master list provided by PhilHealth Solano Collection Section. The results showed that Solano is a predominant location, constituting PhilHealth members, primarily female, for more than 10 years mostly with 1 to 2 orientations attended. Majority of the business sectors were within the medium asset size category and had sole proprietorship as ownership type. The findings showed that under the cognitive stage of the Hierarchy of Effects Model, respondents were aware of the general guidelines of UHC Act and benefits of PhilHealth, and very much aware of the PhilHealth services, suggesting a commendable understanding on the key aspects related to PhilHealth. On the affective stage, respondents highlighted the services under the UHC that they appreciated the most, such as hassle-free online payment transactions and EPRS being easy to operate.

MASTER OTC But cases where the system was under maintenance or offline were the services that they liked the least. PhilHealth benefits under the UHC act, such as immediate eligibility and No Balance Billing feature, were being appreciated. Most of the respondents do not have other health insurance and have not oriented about other health insurance because of the preferred distinguishing features of UHC Act over other Health Insurance, including lower rate of contribution and automatic deduction of benefit in hospital bills. In the final stages of availing PhilHealth services, most of the respondents identified online platforms such as EPRS and Portal easy and convenient to use which made it worthy of their time and money. Moreover, maternal support and hospital discounts were identified as worthy benefits. Regarding the identified the issues and concerns about Turn-around-time (TAT), PhilHealth services, and client satisfaction, the findings revealed that the business owners agreed that standard processing time of the services was often implemented. Respondents also experienced issues on PhilHealth services at a moderate extent but reflected a positive assessment of the PhilHealth services which was rated as satisfied. Gender, number of years as PhilHealth member, and type of ownership did not have significant relationship on the issues and concerns as to Turn-around time, PhilHealth Services, and Client Satisfaction. On the contrary, there was a positive impact on educational interventions on Customer Satisfaction and asset size on the PhilHealth services. Lastly, based on the analysis, the study identified strategies that will enhance the services provided by PhilHealth.

Keywords: Business owners, Client Satisfaction, Hierarchy of Effects Model, PhilHealth Benefit, PhilHealth Services. Turn-around Time, Universal Health Care Act.

Thesis (Master in Management - Business Management)

Includes appendices and bibliographical references.