In an online forum organized by The Makati-based think-tank Stratbase ADR Institute for strategic and International Studies, a new policy advocacy coalition to push and promote proper implementation of the Universal EHealth Act (UHA) of 2019 was launched. Dubbed as the Universal Health Coalition Watch or UHC Watch, this health policy advocacy collation or NGO network sees that the constant participation of all stakeholders adopting a whole-of-society and people-centered approach is vital and pivotal to improve overall health system performance.
I personally subscribe to this newly formed coalition’s view and the UHA 2019’s provision that mandates a so-called whole-of-society and people-centered approach to health care policy. This should create conditions whereby transparency and accountability are best nurtured in the true interest of the general consuming public. This should be so, after all, it is this the general public who will be shouldering the expenses of our health care system.
A good case in point here would be on the matter, for instance, of realizing “pooled procurement” arrangements as also provided for and mandated by/in the UHC Act to putatively bring forth lower prices of medicines medical supplies and equipment.
Based on the actual experiences of other countries where working UHC systems are already running, I believe that through informed dialogue, the production and supply sides in the medical sector can be made to fashion realistic and sustainable schemes to make UHC a working reality in the Philipines as well. This is central to what is called a whole-of-society approach.
What is this so-called “Whole pf-society approach in health care governance? Let me put it this way: There is a popular Filipino adage which argues that , ang sakit ng kalingkingan ay dama ng buong katawan. Kaya ang buong katawan ang kailangang kumilos at ang iba’t ibang parte nito ay kailangang makipagkoordina, hindi lamang ang kalingkingan.
To follow through on this metaphor, we wish to point out that in the final analysis, napakahalaga ng usapin ng pamamahala – ng ULO, o ng “Pang-ULO,’ dahil doon nagsisimula at nagmumula ang mga desisyon kung paaano kikilos ang buong katawan at ang iba’t ibang bahagi nito.
Yes I write “pang-ulo,” but, just to clarify, I am not fixated on any specific personality or personalities as we are, after all, a nation of laws and our body politic is supposed to follow the rule of law and not just any single person. And now, the governing law or policy for national health care is already clearly laid out in in the form of the now two-year old 2019 UHC law which was signed by the Philippine President in February 2019. The challenge to us all now is to flesh it out and realize its promise of an inclusive health care system for all.
Especially given our collective experience wth the Covid 19 pandemic, we should now better see the importance of and need for an effective universal health care system.
As a nation,
We have to rise to the challenge and go beyond narrow sectoral or personal concerns. Para sa kagalingan nating lahat at ng mga darating pang henerasyon ang gawaing ito.
Thus I enjoin all those interested in this UHC Watch advocacy to be vigilant on developments in health care policy , especially in solidarity with UHC Watch’s call for TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
We must work together to keep the general public aware and vigilant as huge resources will necessarily be disbursed to gradually improve our healthcare system.
As consumers, now struggling through a deep recession, we want to see an accelerated pace of execution of the health services mandated in the UHC Act.
Let us be reminded that COVID 19 is not the only disease that continues to threaten our people. As a matter of fact, The number of mortalities from other infectious and non-infectious disease such as heart disease and cancer are alarmingly way above that of the current pandemic. And the sad reality is that this pandemic is severely affecting how we are able to address the treatment of these other ailments.
For the ordinary consumer, getting sick is, now, more than ever, not an option. We do rather jokingly say na “Bawal magkasakit” simply because we cannot afford to get sick. Needless to say, we are hoping that this reality can now be significantly addressed with the UHC Act now in effect.
Indeed, health is a most urgent concern of our people, especially now that the millions of households are in dire straits, just trying to get to their next meal. A family member getting sick is the last thing we all need. Should this happen, the quality of assistance that will be made accessible thru the UHC programs would be a most important gauge of government’s performance in caring for the people for the cost of health care is the number one concern for the average consumer.
Though there is now this so-called Medical Reimbursement Program or MRP under the UHC Act of 2019, which should help lighten the out-of-pocket purchase of medicine, Other ways of expanding access to medical services and supplies such as pooled procurement should now really be considered and prioritized.
For this, I would want to point out that we can learn a lot from the actual experience of, for instance, pooled procurement in other countries with working UHC systems where, apparently, informed dialogue has lead the production and supply sides in their respective medical sectors to come up with realistic and sustainable schemes to make UHC a working reality. From them we may see how the so-called whole-of-society approach can truly create conditions whereby transparency and accountability can best be nurtured in the interest of the general consuming public. After all, it is this public who is and will be shouldering the expense of any UHC System that would eventually be set in place in our country.
The challenge of shaping a universal health care system is daunting but we have to rise and face it. For this, we must go beyond our narrow sectoral or personal concerns and differences dahil para sa kagalingan nating lahat at ng ating mga darating pang henerasyon ang gawaing ito. Maraming salamat po.
