The House of Representatives Committee on Health is poised to conduct an inquiry in aid of legislation on how the Universal Health Care (UHC) law has been implemented.
House deputy speaker and Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin appealed to the House leadership led by Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez to support her House Resolution 2081 that calls for the probe on the matter.
Garin stressed the inquiry should focus on the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) process and other provisions of the law that may hinder timely access to necessary healthcare innovations.
She added the sought review aims to institute legislative reforms to improve the availability and accessibility of healthcare for all Filipinos.
Aside from the HTA process, the committee should also review the HTA Council structure and function as it may not consistently fulfill its mandate in an impartial and timely manner, according to the resolution.
In her resolution, Garin stressed the need for a thorough review of the primary implementer of the UHC law as the DOH should be the primary implementer, not Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).
“I urge the leadership of both the House and the Senate to amend UHC a priority. We must address the elephant in the room,” Garin said, referring to the restrictive provisions of Republic Act (RA) 11223.
“It is vital to fortify the country’s public health system and ensure timely access to essential health interventions for Filipinos,” added the former Health chief.
Garin, also a doctor and vaccinologist, pointed out that health interventions such as medicines, vaccines, and medical devices need not undergo Phase IV clinical study as Section 34 of the UHC law states.
After the Phase III clinical trial, health interventions are already considered safe and efficacious, Garin explained.
“The requirement for Phase IV clinical trials under Section 34 of the UHC Act may result in significant delays in providing Filipinos access to cutting-edge medical innovations and treatments, effectively requiring that such interventions be extensively used in other countries for 5 to 10 years before being made available domestically,” the resolution read.
