State Dining Room, Malacañan Palace
February 22, 2024

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. convened with the Private Sector Advisory Council-Healthcare Sector Group (PSAC-HSG) to discuss updates on its recommendations regarding the building capacity of the healthcare system, as well as improving drug accessibility and strengthening PhilHealth, in a meeting at the State Dining Room in Malacañan Palace.

Under the Building Capacity and Capability are the following nursing initiatives done by the Group: Clinical Care Associates (CCA) Program wherein the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has allocated funding for board reviews of 1000 CCA’s; enhanced Master’s Nursing Program whereby CHED has created a one-year program to develop nurses as faculty members; and bilateral labor agreements such as the signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Austria for the provisions on scholarships, adopt-a-school/hospital, faculty support, etc.

The Group also discussed three (3) focus items in terms of drug accessibility: Local Drug Manufacturing wherein local drug manufacturers can produce anti-TB and anti-HIV medicines, and participate in national bids; Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initiatives, such as the FDA’s progress on digitalization, policy enhancements and accreditation; and Local Drug Development and Innovation by encouraging invention and development of locally produced drugs and vaccines.

Furthermore, the PSAC-HSG outlined the issues concerning the strengthening of PhilHealth that focus on three (3) main areas: digitalization, reorganization and financial/actuarial. In digitalization, a Joint Task Force between PhilHealth and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) will be created. On reorganization, there will be an increase in manpower while on the financial/actuarial aspects, there will be a significant increase in reimbursement rates and the repayment of payables to hospitals.

Lastly, the PSAC-HSG addressed their subsequent actions following the evaluation of advancements. These involve implementing the CCA Program, expanding the nursing board review team with additional CCA members, fostering conversations with CHED and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) regarding the nurse workforce curriculum, supporting the FDA on priority matters, and maintaining collaboration with the Department of Health (DOH) and PhilHealth.

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