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Doctor-pharma collusion: Deputy Majority Leader Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito expresses the need to find out if the collusion between doctors and a pharmaceutical company is affecting the prices of medicines in the market. Ejercito earlier claimed that a pharmaceutical has been bribing doctors to prescribe medicines in their favor in exchange of commissions and incentives. “What is the effect to the cost of health care? We passed the Universal Healthcare (UHC) Act and the Generics Act specifically to lower down the cost of the medical expenses. We want to consider that more than 50 percent of out-of- the- pocket expense accounts for medicine and pharma,” Ejercito said during plenary sessions Monday, April 29, 2024. The senator said the UHC, which he sponsored and co-authored in the Senate, had successfully lowered out-of-the-pocket expenses to 44.7 percent in 2022 as compared to the 56 percent before it was passed. “We want to emphasize that not all doctors are involved. Many are good people and good servants. That is why we need to probe this issue so that the people’s trust in our doctors will remain solid,” Ejercito added. (Bibo Nueva España/Senate PRIB)