The Office of the President on Wednesday released the Certificate of Urgency of the Universal Health Care Bill.

Following the release, the Senate passed on third reading the UHC Bill.

The Department of Health welcomes this new development.

“We welcome this very important development on the Universal Health Care Bill. Once enacted into law, all Filipinos will be given access to quality and equitable health care coverage under the UHC,” Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said.

Under the UHC scheme, emphasis will shift from merely targeting better health outcomes for Filipinos, but also financial protection. The DOH will shift from just looking at effectiveness to cost-effectiveness of treatment interventions.

The health chief said that the DOH is committed to institutionalizing functional Service Delivery Networks founded on the principles of primary health care. These will be participated in by both public and private providers to realize a system where every Filipino family is taken care of by a primary care provider team.

“Yes, we will be moving from a system used to taking care of the sick to one that is used to keeping people healthy,” Secretary Duque concluded.