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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Marcos OKs creation of gov't council for universal health care

Marcos OKs creation of gov't council for universal health care

Published Oct 24, 2023 06:45 am

President Marcos has approved the creation of the Universal Health Care Coordinating Council to oversee the implementation of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act nationwide.

Marcos_RPC1.jpgPresident Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (Photo from the Presidential Communications Office)

This was announced by Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Ted Herbosa after a sectoral meeting with the Chief Executive on Tuesday, Oct. 24, at the Malacañan Palace.

“The President approved the Department of Health’s proposal of creating a Universal Health Care Coordinating Council through an executive order,” the official said.

“We will standardize the health policies; the council will serve as a national governance bodies that will oversee the implementation of Universal Health Care Act nationwide, the project and estimate total national cost for UHC and also implementation of the Universal Health Care at local government level,” he added.

The Council, which would “serve as the venue to discuss relevant concerns that might be raised during the implementation of UHC,” will be composed of the DOH as the council chair and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) as the co-chair.

Included also in the Council are these agencies: the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of Finance (DOF), Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Technical Education And Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and Department of Education (DepEd).

Herbosa also said that Marcos has instructed the DILG to “expedite the review” of Executive Order (EO) No. 138 “and incorporate some of these to the Universal Health Care financing reforms in the amendments.”

EO 138 was issued by Marcos’ predecessor, former president Rodrigo Duterte, in 2021, to implement the Mandanas Ruling of the Supreme Court, which stated that local government units (LGUs) should get 40 percent of all government tax collections, and not just national internal revenue taxes.

“So, the Department of Health is very pleased with the President has given full support to the department’s vision of transforming the healthcare system of the Filipino through the Universal Health Care Act,” Herbosa said.

The creation of the Council is another step toward the full implementation of Republic Act No. 11223, or the UHC Act, which mandated that all Filipinos get the healthcare they need without impoverishing them.

The law enrolled all Filipinos in the National Health Insurance Program (NHIP) to be administered by PhilHealth but because of budgetary constraints, the unpreparedness of the country’s current health system, and the Covid-19 pandemic, the UHC hasn’t been fully implemented yet.

The World Health Organization (WHO) advised the Philippines to fully implement a universal healthcare program in 2030 when the country’s healthcare system is ready, but legislators rushed the bill before the 2019 elections, way before the Philippines had enough government-owned hospitals and healthcare workers required to provide the services needed by more than 110 million Filipinos.

Related Tags

Mandanas ruling Ted Herbosa universal health care EO 138 President Marcos
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