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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Herbosa addresses healthcare fragmentation with UHC coordinating council

Herbosa addresses healthcare fragmentation with UHC coordinating council

Published Oct 24, 2023 07:02 am

Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Teodoro Herbosa stressed on Tuesday, Oct. 24 that the fragmentation of the healthcare system is the main problem at hand when discussing the justification for the creation of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Coordinating Council.

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(Photo from DOH) 


“We saw this during Covid because of the local government code, local health systems will give to municipal mayors and governors,” he said in a PTV Bagong Pilipinas live televised press briefing.

Herbosa emphasized that when the UHC Act was put into motion, the intention was to integrate health systems, and as part of this integration, provincial health boards overseen by governors were established.


These boards were tasked with combining various health systems managed by various mayors within their provinces.

"What happens is there's going to be a special health fund which is actually emphasized in the law and that's why we created a council to watch spending of the money on the special health fund and the implementation would be standard from all different LGUs (local government units)," he noted.

The DOH chief also pointed out that there is a wide spectrum of healthcare system implementations across LGUs, and while some excel in implementing healthcare systems at the local level, others do not give this area the emphasis it requires.

"The council would be able to police or monitor how LGUs and local health systems will be spending funds or income from PhilHealth, income from other local government units, and how the health systems can be improved because our health systems are diverse, some are very good and some are very weak, depending on what their level is, that is how the spending will come," Herbosa said. 

In addition, he said President Marcos Jr. has tasked the DOH with determining the actual cost of achieving equitable healthcare.


Future decisions made by the council will be influenced by this financial insight.


The establishment of the UHC Coordinating Council represents a significant step towards addressing healthcare fragmentation and ensuring that all Filipinos have access to quality healthcare services, Herbosa said. (Zekinah Elize Espina)

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