An employee of the Central Luzon Center for Health Development administers a booster shot to a person in a recent vaccination activity in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga. (Photo courtesy of DOH Health Central Luzon)
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has directed the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to check “best practices” and include digitalization initiatives to improve health insurance operations and benefits.
On Friday, the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) said the President made the remark during his meeting with representatives of the healthcare cluster of the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) on Thursday.
During the meeting, the OPS said Marcos pushed the need further to strengthen collaboration between the public and private sectors to improve the country’s health sector, saying strengthening public-private partnerships coupled with strong third-party assessments will address efficiency concerns in dealing with Filipinos’ health needs.
Developments on the so-called “ladderized” program for medical workers were also discussed during the meeting.
The President previously supported a proposal to implement a “ladderized” program to address the “brain drain” among nurses in the country.
“You can’t hold people back from a better life, a better future… It’s fair that you provide scholarships,” the President told PSAC officials.
“We just have to find ways to keep them here,” he pointed out.
Department of Health Officer-in-Charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the government is looking at “bilateral partners” to provide medical students and professionals with scholarship programs.
“Part of these discussions would be that with our bilateral relationships… we will have exchange programs or exchange conditions,” said Vergeire.
Improving scholarship programs for Filipino healthcare workers is also vital to addressing the concerns in the healthcare workforce, according to Vergeire.
The President earlier backed the passage of a law to improve the nursing profession’s domestic career prospects and access to “relevant nursing education.”
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