Asia Society Philippines has a vision for a shared future among the peoples of Asia, the West, and the world. It is in this spirit that we are collaborating with Optum - UnitedHealth Group to present “Practical Partnerships for the Pandemic” - a series of online conversations on how the public and private sectors in the Philippines can work together to beat the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first of the series discussed how government and private sectors can collaborate more to hasten and enhance large-scale vaccination. The second iteration asked local governments how they are dealing with the pandemic and its socioeconomic consequences, and their insights from on-the-ground experience as to what works, and what can be done better. The final session will surface lessons on vaccine service delivery and rollout.

Speakers:

Senator Risa Hontiveros is a health and women’s rights advocate, a proud activist, and a champion of the basic sectors. She is the Philippines’ first socialist woman Senator. She is a proud member of the Akbayan Party and is its current National Chairperson. In 2001, she received the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) Award for Peace Advocacy for her work in the peace talks with the national Democratic Front (NDF). Four years later in 2005, she was one of 27 Filipinas that joined a group of 1,000 women worldwide who were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. She also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth). She pushed for expanded benefits and coverage, specifically for indigents and senior citizens.

Dr. Teodoro “Ted” Herbosa was the Health Undersecretary of the Philippines from 2010 to 2015. One of his important accomplishments during his term was helping achieve Universal Health Coverage. He also led the modernization of public hospitals through Health Facilities Enhancement Funds and the Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). As CIO, he achieved COBIT 5 Certification, and developed and implemented the National eHealth Strategic Framework Plan. He also served as the Coordinator of Foreign Medical Teams that responded after Typhoon Haiyan struck in 2013. He is currently the Special Adviser of the National Task Force Against COVID-19.

Richard Bon Moya is the former Undersecretary and CIO of the Department of Budget and Management, Republic of the Philippines. He was a member of the Philippine OGP Steering Committee and part of the Philippine delegation that participated in the launching of the Open Government Partnership. He is currently a Ford Foundation Fellow tasked to assist the OGP support unit. He is currently the National Technology Officer of Microsoft Philippines.

Dr. (COL-Ret) LaShanda Cobbs joined OptumServe in July 2020 and was appointed the Director of COVID-19 Services.  As the Director of COVID-19 Services, Dr. Cobbs is responsible for leading the organization in providing COVID-19 testing operations, later adding COVID vaccines, for private and public organizations across the country.  As of March 30th, this organization is responsible for performing more than 4.17 million COVID tests and over 178,000 COVID Vaccine shots using approximately 16,000 staff members.

Dr. John Hitt is the Evidence-Based Medicine Implementation Sage and Senior National Medical Director for OptumCare.  He has been a physician executive for more than 25 years. Most recently he was the CMO of Ativa Medical a medical device startup company and an independent health care consultant.  Previously, he was Chief Medical Officer at Maricopa Integrated Health System (MIHS). As CMO at MIHS, Dr. Hitt was a key member of the senior leadership team having responsibility for Medical Staff Services, Grants and Research, Academic Affairs, Risk Management, physician contracted services and coordinated the activity of Residency Program Directors, Clinical Department Chairs, and Medical Staff.

Join us in this third conversation on June 16, 9:00 AM. It will be moderated by Dr. Albert Francis Domingo, a health systems and policy specialist who has worked extensively with the USAID and WHO.

Dr. Albert Domingo obtained his Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology and Doctor of Medicine degrees from the University of the Philippines. He is a health systems specialist, with a Master of Science degree in Health Systems and Public Policy from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland obtained as a Chevening Scholar of the United Kingdom. He is also familiar with the general principles of health law. He has over a decade of experience in global public health at country and international levels, having worked with USAID, the World Health Organization, and health officers at all levels. Dr. Domingo uses a health systems strengthening lens in advising ministries of health, social health insurance agencies, national and local government authorities, development partners, health care providers, and patient groups. He has worked on health system functions in the context of maternal and child care, sexual and reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and pandemic response, particularly COVID-19. 

About Optum

Optum is a member of the UnitedHealth Group family, a Fortune 7 US company that has been operating in the Philippines since 2011. Optum Global Solutions (OGS) Philippines is a leading health services innovation company whose success is anchored on its commitment to help people live healthier lives and make the health system work better for everyone. Optum connects the brightest people, places and ideas across the health care ecosystem to create better care. Optum is spread out in Taguig, Quezon City and Muntinlupa in Metro Manila, and Cebu (Central Visayas). It is a premier Healthcare Information Management (HIM) organization in the Philippines who play a role in the care and support being provided to over 125 million customers in the U.S. The company offers an extensive suite of enabling and technology services, with a highly-skilled workforce delivering excellent customer care, payment integrity, pharmacy benefit management and revenue cycle management solutions to accelerate revenue streams and deliver value to US clients. These capabilities strive to improve experiences and lifelong health outcomes for everyone Optum serves, while discovering new ways to make care more affordable. For more information, visit www.optum.com.