By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson yesterday said the province is still far off from the ideal situation under the Universal Health Care (UHC) Law.

“It is where the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) downloads the money and (we) will just liquidate later on. That’s the ideal (situation) where we will have the money even before the services are provided,” Lacson said.

However, the provincial government still doesn’t have the integration with the local government units, the governor said.

“What’s good is we have inter-local health zones, so we will just be dealing with side health zones for the integration,” he said.

Lacson said based on the presentations given by PhilHealth and the Department of Health (DOH), the province can reach the ideal situation under the UHC Law in 2024.

“We have the whole of 2023 to do our assignment and enjoy the benefits of the law,” Lacson said.

He also said there would be no need for the Negros Occidental Comprehensive Health Program (NOCHP) anymore, if there’s no billing charged.

“But in the meantime, NOCHP is still very helpful for our constituents,” he said.

The governor said he would seek a consensus from the province’s 31 mayors and explain to them the benefits of the UHC Law.

Meanwhile, DOH Undersecretary Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho said the UHC Law enables every Filipino to take care of themselves.

“It is also having a primary health care provider for every Filipino family,” Ho said.

She said there are many components of the UHC law that “some parts are more fully implemented than others.”

“It is an increasing recognition from our leaders that health is important. We have to put in more money. The DOH is among the top three agencies with the most budget,” she said.

On February 2019, former President Rodrigo Duterte signed the UHC Bill into law, which grants all Filipinos access to an affordable, quality and readily available health service that is suitable for their needs./DGB, WDJ