MALASIQUI, Pangasinan – Some 1.97 million Ilocos Region residents have availed of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation’s (PhilHealth) Konsultasyong Sulit Tama (Konsulta), the comprehensive outpatient benefits mandated by the Universal Health Care Law, since 2022.
PhilHealth Ilocos Region health delivery management division chief Dr. Maricar Arzadon, in a forum hosted by the Philippine Information Agency Pangasinan on Friday, said the agency has already disbursed PHP189 million for Konsulta from 2022 to June 2024.
Konsulta offers laboratory and diagnostic examinations under the package that include complete blood count with platelet count, urinalysis, fecalysis, sputum microscopy, fecal occult blood, pap smear, lipid profile, fasting blood sugar, oral glucose tolerance test, electrocardiogram, creatinine, and HbA1c, as well as provision of 21 medicines for communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases, hypertension, and diabetes, among others.
Each PhilHealth member is entitled to a PHP1,700 Konsulta package benefit per year.
Arzadon said PhilHealth members who are not yet registered are highly encouraged to register with Konsulta-accredited healthcare providers in the region, which are now around 161 in total, 12 of which are private healthcare providers.
“The members have the right to choose which healthcare provider they want to avail of the Konsulta package,” she said.
Meanwhile, PhilHealth has disbursed PHP2.3 billion worth of members’ benefits and claims as of the first half this year.
PhilHealth Ilocos Region benefit administration section medical specialist Dr. Majesty-Ritchie Cor Parayno said most of the packages availed were in-patient packages covering seasonal diseases such as dengue, leptospirosis, and acute gastroenteritis, which are rampant during the rainy season.
She said case rates have been increased by 30 percent this year.
Among the adjusted case rates are pneumonia high-risk from PHP32,000 to PHP90,100; stroke-in-part from PHP28,000 to PHP76,000; stroke hemorrhagic from PHP38,000 to PHP80,000; and hemodialysis from PHP2,600 to PHP4,000 per session and from 144 to 156 sessions.
Parayno said the turnaround time of processing and crediting claims and benefits of PhilHealth Ilocos Region is 18 days, shorter than the 60-day requirement of the law, with zero backlogs.
Ilocos Region has 4.31 million PhilHealth members and their dependents.
The number is expected to rise pending the submission of the names of indigent members under the Listahanan 3 of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. (PNA)
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