Marcos appoints Edwin Mercado as new PhilHealth chief

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. has appointed orthopedic surgeon Dr. Edwin Mercado as the new President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).

Mercado has replaced Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. He took his oath before the President today, Tuesday.

Mercado's appointment came after several health advocates have called the transfer of P60 billion funds of the state insurer to the national treasury as a “murder” of Universal Healthcare.

In October 2024, the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order against the further transfer of the PhilHealth funds to the national treasury.

So far, PhilHealth said that P60 billion has been transferred to the national treasury with only P29.9 billion remaining with the agency. A total of P89.9 billion excess funds of PhilHealth is expected to be transmitted to the state coffers on a staggered basis

Mercado served as the vice chairman of the Mercado General Hospital/Qualimed Health Network since March 2021 wherein he demonstrated leadership as well as executive and strategic planning expertise. 

A Doctor of Medicine graduate of the University of the Philippines in 1987, Mercado completed his Master of Medical Sciences in Global Health Delivery from Harvard Medical School in 2023. 

He also has an Executive Master's in Healthcare Administration from the University of North Carolina in the US, according to the Presidential Communications Office. 

Mercado did advocacy work with the Zuellig Family Foundation and several Department of Health's Centers for Health Development, the PCO added.

Health Secretary Ted Herbosa, who chairs the PhilHealth Board of Directors, thanked Marcos for appointing Mercado as the new PhilHealth head.

According to the Department of Health (DOH), which is PhilHealth's supervising agency, Mercado is an orthopedic surgeon who graduated from and trained at the UP College of Medicine- Philippine General Hospital.

“Dr. Mercado is also actively involved in health economics work aligned with the Universal Health Care Act,” Herbosa said in a statement, adding that the DOH looks forward to working with him “very soon.”

The Health chief also expressed gratitude to Ledesma for his service in PhilHealth.— RSJ/AOL, GMA Integrated News