City enacts ‘Localized’ Universal Health Care
The Baguio City Council approved on third and final reading an ordinance institutionalizing the Universal Health Care (UHC in the City of Baguio and prescribing reforms in the city-wide health care system.
It can be remembered that in 2019, the Department of Health (DOH) chose Baguio City as a site for the advanced implementation of the Universal Health Care Act (Republic Act No. 1123).
Councilor Joel Alangsab, main proponent of the ordinance, has coordinated with different concerned offices and individuals and laid the groundwork for the revision of the institutionalized Universal Health Care (UHC).
Serving as one of the resource speakers during council deliberations and public consultations, Michael Capuyan, City DOH Office-UHC Development Management Officer IV, said the institutionalization and localization of the UHC through local legislation will enhance and strengthen the implementation of the Universal Health Care Act.
The local law will also tailor-fit the universal health care programs to the specific needs of the local government unit, he added.
The UHC will integrate all health systems in the city with the end goal of ensuring effective, efficient, and affordable delivery of health services adhering to a framework that “fosters a whole-of-system, whole-of-government, whole-of-society, and people-oriented approaches.”
One complication that the UHC seeks to address is the fragmentation of the country’s current health system, particularly the fragmented health financing mechanism, resulting in health inefficiencies and health inequities.
Under Section 20 of the IRR of the Act, a special health fund (SHF) will be established where all resources intended for health services are pooled and managed including financial grants and subsidies from national government agencies, income from PhilHealth, and other sources such as, but not limited to, financial grants and donations from non-government organizations, faith-based organizations, and official development assistance.
The SHF will be utilized in financing population-based and individual-based health services. It will also be used to cover operating costs, capital investments, and remuneration and incentives for all health workers.
An integrated procurement system is believed to expedite and organize the procurement process of health essentials needed by the city’s health facilities.
The Local Health Board assumes the responsibility of managing the SHF, thus having the authority to determine and approve the use of the pooled resources, as the law provides.
The Local Health Board will be created through the UHCA and the ordinance and will be headed by the City Mayor as Chairperson and the City Health Services Officer as Vice-Chairperson.
Other health components that will be enhanced through the UHC aside from the procurement process are the supply chain and management system, the Health Facility Development Plan, and the clinical practice guidelines.
Jennifer Valenzuela, City DOH Office Development Management Officer IV, explained during the council’s regular session last April 19, 2021 that the UHC also aims to streamline the management, integration, and linkages of health facilities in the localities in order to address fragmentation issues in the delivery of health services.
“Primary care facilities or the district health centers will be linked to higher facilities like our Levels I and II hospitals which are the private hospitals in the city and to a level III hospital or the apex hospital, the highest level, which is the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center,” Valenzuela explained.
Through the integration of the local health system, there is continuity in providing health care to the community as it enhances the referral mechanism for individuals in need of medical attention, she added.
The UHCA and the ordinance require the restructuring of the City Health Services Office (CSHO), creating two divisions which are the Health Service Delivery Division headed by an Assistant City Health Services Officer and the Health Systems Support Division also to be headed by another Assistant City Health Services Officer.
An incremental increase in the human resource of the CHSO for health positions will take place in order to comply with the standards set by the UHCA such as additional doctors, midwives, dentists, nurses, inspectors, nutritionists, pharmacists, and other needed health workers.
Dr. Rowena Galpo, City Health Services Officer, earlier revealed that some positions prescribed by the UHCA already exist in the current plantilla of the CHSO.
The approved ordinance was transmitted to the City Mayor’s Office to be signed by the chief executive- Jordan G. Habbiling
