‘ Pass tobacco tax bill’

as urgent.

Rep. Angelina Tan of Quezon City, chairman of the Congress Committee on Health, approved House Bill 5784, consolidating all four house versions of the UHC.

Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, Senate Committee on Health and Demography

Senate Bill 1458.

In its report, the DoH said that the UHC Bill would assign every Filipino family to a primary care provider.

Another key provision of UHC Bill is to ensure all Filipinos are enrolled in PhilHealth in which “all funds intended for medical services are pooled into,” said Duque.

“It ensures that PhilHealth pays for primary care services; and that, secondary and tertiary care are reimbursed only when appropriate,” the health chief said.

It would also simplify the PhilHealth membership into two: direct contributory for taxpayers and non- contributory for those who are not formally employed.

Government-owned health facilities and networks such as rural health units “shall be allowed to retain their health income into a special health fund,” he added.

Duque also vowed to craft “stronger” policies so as not to put Filipinos at risk

medicines and other medical products and

The substitute bill also seeks to require public school graduates to work for two years in underserved areas, and mandates

data to ensure accountability, said Duque.

There would also be a health technology assessment institution to decide on what the government should or should not fund.

of implementation without local government units; the following year, P271 billion; year three, P286.3 billion; year four, P302.4

another anomalous billion-peso project under the DoH such as its mass immunization program against dengue using Dengvaxia and construction of 5,700 barangay health stations during the time of former health chief Janette Garin.

The DoH, scholars and health advocates also back the increased tobacco excise tax proposal of Ejercito (Senate Bill 1605) to raise funds for the implementation of the proposed universal health care law.

To make UHC feasible, Duque said, the DoH is supporting the proposed tobacco excise tax of 90 pesos per pack, which they estimate can generate P37.2 billion for the government.

“We can tax tobacco some more because we still have the cheapest tobacco. I would rather go for that than the UHC Bill,” said Herbosa.

“With the universal health care law, they don’t have money that is why we are pushing for tobacco tax,” said Dans.