The recent appointment of Secretary Edwin Mercado to the Department of Health (DoH) and Acting President and Chief Executive Officer Beverly Lorraine Ho to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) comes at a critical point for the country’s health reform agenda.

With only two years remaining in the Marcos Jr. administration, the window for delivering on the promise of Universal Health Care (UHC) is narrowing. The UHC Act, signed into law in 2019 as Republic Act No. 11223, automatically enrolled every Filipino in the National Health Insurance Program and reorganized service delivery around primary care and province- and city-wide health systems, so the mandate awaiting the new leadership is to turn a long-standing legal commitment into services people actually receive. The country’s health institutions need decisive, strategic, and patient-centered leadership to accelerate reforms that have long been overdue.

Dr. Mercado brings to the DoH a blend of administrative experience and familiarity with both public and private health systems. His exposure to integrated care models, primary care networks, and health service innovations should help him navigate the complex demands of UHC implementation.

Dr. Ho, who previously served as a Department of Health undersecretary and whose background spans public health policy, preventive care, and systems strengthening, assumes leadership of PhilHealth at a time when the institution must rebuild public trust, modernize its operations, and ensure that its benefit packages provide meaningful financial protection to Filipino families. Her recent work with AC Health also gives her insights into how health systems can become more responsive, efficient, and patient-centered.

Their appointments create a renewed sense of possibility, but they also carry immense responsibility. The next two years will help determine whether UHC becomes a lived reality for millions of Filipinos or remains an aspirational policy suspended in transition.

Survey data over the past decade consistently show that one of the most urgent personal concerns of Filipinos is to stay healthy and avoid illness. This concern has remained remarkably persistent across administrations, economic cycles, and national crises. It reflects not only the importance people place on health, but also their awareness of the financial risks that illness can impose on families. That awareness is grounded in experience: out-of-pocket payments still account for roughly 45 percent of the country’s total health expenditure, according to the Philippine National Health Accounts, one of the higher shares in Southeast Asia.

This should inform how government sets its priorities, particularly in crafting the proposed health budget under the proposed 2027 General Appropriations Act covering both the DoH and PhilHealth. Resources should support preventive care, accessible primary care networks, stronger public hospitals, and benefit packages that reduce out-of-pocket spending. The budget must translate the promise of UHC into services that people can actually access and afford.

First, the two institutions must fast-track UHC implementation. The law’s promise is clear: every Filipino should have access to quality, affordable, and comprehensive health services without suffering financial hardship. Yet progress remains uneven. Primary care networks are still fragmented in many areas, health facilities continue to face resource constraints, and PhilHealth’s benefit delivery has yet to fully match the needs of patients on the ground. PhilHealth’s Konsulta package, the flagship vehicle for primary care coverage, has likewise seen slow provider accreditation and public enrollment since its rollout.

Drs. Mercado and Ho must therefore work in tandem to accelerate the rollout of primary care benefits, strengthen referral pathways, and ensure that PhilHealth reimbursements are timely, transparent, and adequate to support quality service delivery.

Second, they must manage the intersection of health and business interests with prudence and integrity. Both leaders have experience working with private sector actors, which can be an advantage if governed well. The Philippine health system has long depended on private providers, insurers, and investments to supplement government capacity, with private facilities accounting for a large share of the country’s hospital services.

The challenge is to ensure that public-private participation serves clear public health objectives. Partnerships should expand access, improve efficiency, and encourage innovation without weakening accountability or allowing commercial interests to override the needs of patients.

Third, they must keep the Filipino public at the center of reform. In practice, this requires difficult choices. It means confronting entrenched interests, resisting pressures that compromise reform, and making decisions that may be politically difficult but ethically upright.

It also means strengthening accountability mechanisms, improving grievance redress systems, and ensuring that every peso of public funds is used efficiently and honestly. Patient groups, civil society organizations, frontline health workers, and local governments must have a meaningful voice because they directly encounter the gaps in the system.

Fourth, they must rebuild institutional trust. PhilHealth, in particular, has faced public skepticism because of past controversies, from the 2020 allegations of fraud and misused funds that drew congressional investigations to the more recent dispute over the transfer of unused PhilHealth subsidies to the national treasury. Dr. Ho has an opportunity to reset the institution’s direction through transparency, responsiveness, and consistent communication. Dr. Mercado must likewise ensure that the DoH operates with clarity, integrity, and a strong commitment to public service.

Trust cannot be restored through messaging alone. It must be earned through reliable benefits, accessible services, transparent decisions, and visible improvements in the patient experience.

Finally, collaboration must become a governing principle. UHC cannot be implemented by the DoH and PhilHealth alone. It requires sustained coordination with local governments, which the UHC Act tasked with leading integrated province- and city-wide health systems, along with private providers, professional societies, patient organizations, and civil society. It also demands evidence-based policymaking, participatory governance, and a willingness to engage constructively amidst criticism.

I rarely write commentaries on the health sector, but these appointments come at a time of profound consequence for our country. Their leadership will shape not only the trajectory of UHC but also the broader performance of the administration and the future of the country’s health system.

The remaining two years are not a long runway. They will require clarity of vision, institutional discipline, and sustained execution, and the early markers will be concrete: the final shape of the 2027 health budget, the pace at which Konsulta enrollment and provider accreditation expand, and the substance of PhilHealth’s next benefit enhancements. I extend my congratulations to Dr. Mercado and Dr. Ho, together with a supportive reminder that their legacy will ultimately be measured by whether Filipinos experience a health system that is more accessible, more affordable, more trustworthy, and more responsive to their needs.

Victor Andres “Dindo” C. Manhit is the president of the Stratbase ADR Institute.