BAGUIO CITY (PIA) — More than 735,000 individuals in the Cordillera region are ensured of primary health care under Philhealth’s KonSulTa or Konsultasyong Sulit at Tama.
During the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas forum here on Tuesday (Sept. 10), PhilHealth Regional Vice President for CAR Dr. Dominga Gadgad reported that 755,383 individuals in the region can now benefit from KonSulta package.
The KonSulTa is a comprehensive outpatient benefits package that aims to protect the health of Filipinos against chronic illnesses through consultation, health screening, selected diagnostics or laboratory procedures and essential medicines. This is in support to the attainment of the goals of the Universal Health Care Law and the Bagong Pilipinas brand of governance of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“Through the Konsulta package, we’ve added 32 essential drugs, totaling 53 available medications. Sa Konsulta, libre na po ang check-up sa isang primary care professional. With free primary care check-ups and maintenance medications for conditions such as asthma, diabetes, and hypertension, we urge all Filipinos to register to the Konsulta provider nearest and most convenient for them,” Gadgad said.
The PhilHealth Konsulta package initially covered 21 medicines, and 13 laboratory and diagnostic tests, namely; Complete Blood Count with platelet count, urinalysis, fecalysis, sputum microscopy, fecal occult blood, papsmear, Glycosylated Hemoglobin, Lipid Profile, Fasting Blood Sugar, oral glucose tolerance test, creatinine, Electrocardiogram and Chest X-Ray.
The PhilHealth this year expanded benefits under the Konsulta package such as the inclusion of mammogram and ultrasound (upper abdomen, pelvic and breast only) in the diagnostic examinations.
“The budget per patient for Konsulta has also increased from P500 to P1,700,” Gadgad said. For the provision of outpatient benefits under the KonSulta, PhilHealth-CAR paid around P26.93 million in 2023 and around P176.88 million from January to July of this year, Gadgad reported.
To avail of the outpatient primary health care services, PhilHealth members should be registered with an accredited PhilHealth Konsulta provider. There are currently 102 KonSulta Package Providers in the Cordillera, mostly rural health units and health centers.
The PhilHealth-CAR caters to around 1.62 million members and has paid around P3.13 billion worth of health benefits claim of health facilities in the region in 2023. PIA-CAR
