Garin: Healthcare law needs amendments, not change in PhilHealth chief

Rep. Janette Garin —Photo from House of Representatives FB page

MANILA, Philippines — Iloilo 1st District Rep. Janette Garin believes that amending the Universal Health Care Act — and not changing officials within the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) — would address problems with the provision of health services across the population.

Garin, in a statement on Thursday, said that she is urging leaders of both the House of Representatives and the Senate to call for a review of Republic Act No. 11223 or the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act, and possibly amend provisions that are now hindering the implementation of the program.

“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,” Garin, a physician and a former Health secretary, said.

“I call on the leadership of both Houses to make the amendment to the UHC a priority,” she added.

According to Garin, she intends to file a resolution asking the House committee on health to review some provisions of the UHC Act, particularly supposed “killer provisions.”

Garin explained that under Section 34 of the law, health interventions such as medicines, vaccines and medical devices are required to undergo a Phase IV clinical study.  However, the lawmaker noted that after the Phase III clinical trial, health interventions are already considered safe and efficacious.

“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. This Section 34 of UHC is just one of the many provisions deemed restrictive and detrimental to health care accessibility,” Garin’s draft resolution said.

On Wednesday, Senator JV Ejercito called for the resignation of PhilHealth head, for supposedly failing to “live up” to the purpose of the UHC Act.

Ejercito did not mention who the PhilHealth head was, but the state-run insurer is currently headed by president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Ledesma Jr.

“Dapat palitan na ang head ng PhilHealth for failure to live up to [the] purpose of the UHC Law being the primary agency tasked with its implementation,” he said.

(PhilHealth’s head needs to be replaced for failure to live up to the purpose of the UHC Law being the primary agency tasked with its implementation.)

“This is really close to my heart, the budget of DOH, because as a former chair of the committee on health and also the principal sponsor of the UHC Law, very crucial of course, ang budget ng DOH and of course ‘yung PhilHealth lalo na,” said Ejercito.

READ: JV Ejercito calls for replacement of PhilHealth chief for UHC failures 

DOH, not PhilHealth

But instead of asking PhilHealth’s ledesma to resign, Agri party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee believes it is the Department of Health (DOH) chief — Secretary Teodoro Herbosa — who must resign if commitments are undelivered.

According to Lee, he supports Ejercito’s call for the implementation of the UHC Act, but it is DOH — as head of PhilHealth’s Benefits Committee — who should lead in the law’s enforcement.

“We are one with Senator JV in the goal of immediately implementing the goals of UHC.  But for us, what we should focus on now is the implementation of our signed commitment with DOH Secretary Ted Herbosa and PhilHealth Chief Mandy Ledesma to lower the medical expenses of Filipinos,” he said.

“It is clear that the DOH, as head of the PhilHealth’s Benefits Committee, is the agency that should lead the implementation.  If Sec. Herbosa has no plans to comply with the agreement, he should resign from his post.  Because if he does not have a word of honor, I would accompany the people in seeking accountability from him,” he added.

Lee during the House budget deliberations last September 25 secured a commitment from both the DOH and PhilHealth to provide a comprehensive plan in lowering the out-of-pocket medical expenses of Filipinos.

However, many of these promises have not been attained.

“Every day, many of our fellow Filipinos die due to ailments that are not addressed, because they cannot buy medicines or afford check-ups.  It is a big sin not to use the billions of funds for the health and welfare, and to save lives of Filipinos,” he noted.