Prov’l gov’t sets Health Summit in November

The Provincial Government of Negros Occidental will hold a Provincial Health Summit in November in preparation for the implementation of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Program of the national government.

Provincial Health Officer (PHO) Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, said the summit was one of the matters discussed during a meeting held Friday.

Based on the plans, the UHC Program must be fully-implemented by 2023, and some of the matters that needed to be worked on include identifying health care providers, and the formation of a provincial health board which will manage the special health fund.

Tumimbang also pointed out that the UHC Program must also be discussed to the province’s 31 local government units.

Speakers from the Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) are expected to attend the Provincial Health Summit.

Previously in February of 2019, former president Rodrigo Duterte signed the UHC Act into law, which aims to give equal access to all Filipinos quality and cheap healthcare services.

The law would also automatically enroll all Filipino citizens to the National Health Insurance Program, further increasing PhilHealth’s coverage which include free medical consultations and laboratory tests.* (DGB)