LA TRINIDAD, Benguet (PIA) – The province of Benguet gears up as a Health Care Providers Network (HCPN) demonstration site under the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act, which is aimed at providing all Filipinos access to quality health care while ensuring financial risk protection.

Benguet Provincial Health Officer Dr. Meliarazon Dulay said that Benguet, along with the provinces of Aklan, Laguna, and Sarangani, were chosen as HCPN demo sites as part of the UHC implementation.

“HCPN demonstration site refers to selected UHC sites that attained the requirement outlined in this policy, and will implement the reforms of the UHC Act specifically the PhilHealth network contracting, All Case Rates-Global Budget, prospective payments, integrated procurement system, and digitized supply chain management system,” Dulay explained during the 1st quarter meeting of the Provincial Health Board.

As demo sites, the provinces will be the first in the nation to implement the SDG Plus Konsulta package (Konsultasyong Sulit at Tama), an updated version of the Konsulta package currently being implemented in these areas.

There will be no template in this operation, and strategies will instead be tailor-fitted to the needs of each province, according to the Department of Health.

“The HCPN demonstration site program is an offshoot of the ‘Sandbox’ program for primary care, but it differs as it would live-test new policies and approaches on a wider scope health care provider network. It will include financial and technical integration from primary care to higher levels of care,” Dulay  said.

The HCPN demo site aims for access to patient-centered and integrated health system-navigation. It ensures every Filipino has a physician, the establishment of a referral system, and payment prospective through a global budget.

Dulay explained that except in emergency cases, patients should not go straight to the hospital if they are sick, rather, they should go to primary care facilities which will provide them with basic health services.

Health facilities that are part of an HCPN demo site shall receive their global budget through the Special Health Fund in accordance with existing guidelines on prospective payments which are subject to relevant accounting rules and regulations.

“As Konsulta HCPN demo site, if we will perfect all the requirements being required, the province is projected to be paid a total of P1.6 billion, and it will be released per tranche,” she said.

The PHO is firming up plans for delivering its commitment as an HCPN demo site. (JDP/MAWC-PIA-CAR)