THE PHILIPPINES’ top health official should step down if he fails to uphold the commitment to make healthcare affordable for Filipinos, a congressman said on Thursday, urging the Department of Health (DoH) to stay true to the promises it made to Congress before yearend.
Health Secretary Teodoro J. Herbosa and Emmanuel R. Ledesma, Jr., president of state-run Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), promised the House of Representatives last month they’ll make medical care cheaper by increasing health insurance benefits while expanding its coverage, according to Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee.
“What should be focused on now is the implementation of the commitment that DoH Secretary Ted Herbosa and PhilHealth Chief Mandy Ledesma signed, aimed at significantly lowering the hospital expenses of Filipinos,” he said in a statement in Filipino.
“If Secretary Herbosa has no intention of fulfilling the agreement, he should resign now,” he added.
PhilHealth and the DoH promised to institute a 50% across-the-board health benefit increase and to cover at least 80% of cancer treatment and heart operation expenses by November 2024, according to a commitment letter signed by Mr. Herbosa and Mr. Ledesma.
They also agreed to make various health diagnostic scans, such as Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) free, making it part of outpatient services rendered by PhilHealth.
Meanwhile, Iloilo Rep. Janette L. Garin said amendments to the Universal Health Care Act should be taken up instead of replacing the heads of Philippine health agencies, noting the need to review “restrictive” provisions.
“We can change the PhilHealth chief a hundred times but unless we amend the law as soon as possible, Universal Health Care can never be achieved,” Ms. Garin, a former Health secretary, said. “I call on the leadership of both Houses to make the amendment… a priority.”
She cited the need to ease clinical trial restrictions on drugs and medical devices entering Philippine markets. Only a Phase III clinical trial approval would suffice for most medicines, enough to consider it “safe and efficacious.”
Clinical trials are studies to determine the effectiveness and safety of new medicines and other forms of medical treatment.
Sec. 34 of the 2019 health law mandated that pharmaceutical products and medical procedures should undergo a Phase IV clinical trial before being allowed in the country.
“With this requirement of Phase IV, Filipinos will have no recourse but to go to other countries to gain access to any breakthrough in science,” she said. “This Section 34… is just one of the many provisions deemed restrictive and detrimental to health care accessibility.” — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio
