PBBM approves proposal to create UHC Coordinating Council – Presidential Communications Office

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. approved the proposal of the Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday to create a coordinating council that will oversee the implementation of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act in the country.

“The President approved the Department of Health’s proposal of creating a Universal Health Care Coordinating Council through an executive order,” Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa announced in a press briefing in Malacañang.

“We will standardize the health policies. The council will serve as a national governance body 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. It will serve as the venue to discuss relevant concerns that might be raised during the implementation of UHC,” Herbosa said.

DOH will serve as the council chair and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) will serve as the co-chair, according to Herbosa.

Herbosa said the council will be composed of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT); Department of Budget and Management (DBM); Department of Finance (DOF), Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and probably the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Department of Education (DepEd).

Herbosa further noted that the President instructed the DILG to expedite the review of Executive Order No. 138 on the implementation of the Supreme Court ruling on the Mandanas-Garcia petitions and incorporate some of these to the Universal Health Care financing reforms in the amendments.

During the sectoral meeting, the Health department presented updates on the UHC Act of 2019.

“The UHC law was enacted on February 2019 and the vision was progressive realization that can be achieved through a systems approach, clear road delineation of stakeholders and ensure equitable access and affordable healthcare and protection without financial risk,” Herbosa said.

“To give a background, we had