US-trained doctor is new PhilHealth chief

(UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed Dr. Edwin Mercado, a US-trained orthopedic surgeon, as president and chief executive officer of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), Malacañang said Tuesday. Mercado, who replaced Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. as head of the state insurer, took his oath before the president in Malacañang on Tuesday, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said. Before his appointment, Mercado served as vice chairman of the Mercado General Hospital and QualiMed Health Network since 2021. "He has demonstrated proven leadership and executive and strategic planning expertise," the PCO said in a statement. "Under his leadership, Mercado General Hospital Inc. (MGHI) has expanded into a national chain of health care facilities that includes four general hospitals, six multi-specialty clinics, two surgery centers, 150 primary care corporate clinics, a college for paramedical professionals, and a physician practice group of 400 doctors," it added. A doctor of medicine graduate of the University of the Philippines in 1987, Mercado completed his master of medical sciences in global health delivery at Harvard Medical School in 2023. He also has an executive master's in health care administration from the University of North Carolina in the US. "Mercado has dedicated his work to ensuring equitable access to quality medical care and leveraging technology to strengthen health systems, particularly in financial management and primary care programs," the PCO said. Mercado did advocacy work with the Zuellig Family Foundation and several Department of Health Centers for Health Development, providing technical assistance to provincial health boards on operationalizing their health care provider network. A lecturer at the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health on global supply chain, research methods, and implementation science, Mercado is also a guest lecturer at the University of the Philippines College of Public Health on medical processes and programs. Mercado is studying the cost of per-member payment for global coverage of inpatient services. He is also involved in an ongoing study on using artificial intelligence as an assistive tool for community health workers to deliver primary care. Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa welcomed Mercado's appointment, noting that he is actively involved in health economics work aligned with the Universal Health Care Act and cited his academic qualifications. Sen. Grace Poe said she hopes the new PhilHealth management could "breathe new life" into the state health insurer that needs healing itself. "We are looking forward to the new PhilHealth leadership and we hope for a more responsive, efficient and just health care management," Poe said in a statement on Tuesday. Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada said he hopes Mercado would be able to "fix all the problems" of PhilHealth, adding: "One good thing is [that] he is not a politician." Poe said Mercado "faces a gargantuan task in making PhilHealth shape up to live up to its mandate of providing efficient, reliable and accessible universal health care to all Filipinos." The PhilHealth members "who now cough up higher premium contributions must feel the benefits of the health care system, or at least have peace of mind that they can rely on it in case of need," the senator said. The new PhilHealth management should also settle its remaining deficiencies to health workers, hospitals and other institutions, Poe added. House lawmakers also welcomed Mercado's appointment. Batanes Rep. Ciriaco Gato, chairman of the House Committee on Health, said he was "very optimistic" with Mercado as PhilHealth chief. AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee, who has been critical of how the state health insurer has been run, said he hopes that the appointment of Mercado would speed up its benefits enhancements that he has been seeking for more than a year.