The HTA Council, with its Core Committee and Subcommittees, is an independent advisory body created under the UHC Act with the overall role of providing guidance to the Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) on the coverage of health interventions and technologies to be funded publicly. The UHC Act requires that any investment in new and existing health technologies and the development of benefit packages are based on positive recommendations by the HTA Council and that all health interventions and technologies, despite having undergone an initial appraisal process, be subjected to periodic review especially with the emergence of new evidence that may have an impact on the initial coverage decisions by DOH and PhilHealth. The HTA Council is supported by the HTA Division of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in its governance, management and operations for the nation’s goal of achieving safe, effective, efficient, fair, affordable and responsive health care for all Filipinos. 

HTAC Core Committee

The Core Committee is responsible for the development and submission of final recommendations to policy- and decision-makers, based on the evidence appraisal of the different subcommittees. It is composed of nine (9) voting members, namely:

public health epidemiologist; health economist; ethicist; citizen’s representative; sociologist or anthropologist; clinical trial or research methods expert; clinical epidemiologist or evidence-based medicine expert; medico-legal expert; and public health expert.

The Core Committee members are tasked to approve the agenda of the HTA Council meetings in consultation with the head of the HTA Division and the HTA Technical Secretariat; and ensure that the quality of the evaluations submitted by the assessment groups adhere to the agreed methodological standards.

Marita V. Tolentino Reyes, MD Ethicist Chairperson, Core Committee View Profile

Marita V. Tolentino Reyes, MD

Ethicist

Chairperson, Core Committee