Universal Health Care Coordinating Council to be created

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved the proposal to establish the Universal Health Care Coordinating Council responsible for supervising the execution of the UHC Act to fix the country's fragmented healthcare infrastructure.

In a Malacañang Press Briefing, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said the council will function as a platform for addressing pertinent issues that could arise during the execution of the UHC legislation.

"The President approved the Department of Health's proposal of creating a Universal Health Care Coordinating Council through an executive order. So, we would be crafting and drafting this," Herbosa said.

"We will standardize the health policies. The council will serve as a national governance body that will oversee the implementation of the 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 said.

Herbosa said that the council would consist of various government agencies. These include the Department of Health, the Departments of Interior and Local Government, Information and Communications Technology, Budget and Management, and Finance, in addition to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation and the Professional Regulation Commission, among others.

Furthermore, Herbosa emphasized that any concerns or issues arising in the implementation of the UHC Act can also be raised before this governing body.

Herbosa pointed out that the Local Government Code of 1991 had decentralized the country's healthcare system, which the UHC Act has been striving to reintegrate since its enactment. He also mentioned that a total of 71 local government units have committed to amalgamating their healthcare schemes with the UHC system.

Herbosa further mentioned that President Marcos Jr. has directed the Department of the Interior and Local Government  to accelerate the evaluation of Executive Order (EO) No. 138 and include certain elements of it in the reforms for Universal Health Care financing through amendments.

Executive Order 138 was issued by Marcos' predecessor, former President Rodrigo Duterte, in 2021 to implement the Mandanas Ruling of the Supreme Court. This ruling declared that local government units (LGUs) should receive 40 percent of all government tax collections, not limited to 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.