CALAPAN CITY, Oriental Mindoro (PIA) — There is a significant increase in payments for the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation’s (PhilHealth) Konsulta program in the MIMAROPA region from ₱7.5 million in 2023 to ₱133 million in 2024.
PhilHealth MIMAROPA Regional Vice President Jerry F. Ibay said during the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas of the Philippine Information Agency on February 11 that the significant surge in funding was driven by a hike in payment rates for healthcare providers.
“Nag i-increase na po ang ating mga Konsulta providers. Actually in 2023, we paid about ₱7.5 million, and in 2024 we paid ₱133 million. The drastic increase was because in 2023, it was only ₱500 for public and ₱750 for private providers, then we increased it in 2024 to ₱1,700 kaya po tumaas sya. ‘Yan po ang rason kung bakit tumaas po ang binayaran for Konsulta alone,” he said.
PhilHealth’s Konsultasyong Sulit Tama (Konsulta) is a comprehensive outpatient benefits as mandated by the Universal Health Care Law. Under this program, all Filipinos shall be registered with an accredited PhilHealth Konsulta provider of their choice and be eligible to avail of condultation, health risk screening and assessment, selected laboratory and diganostic test, and selected drugs and medicine.
Meanwhile, Ibay is seeking the support of local government units to encourage constituents to visit Konsulta providers to further expand the reach of the program. He also called on media outlets to help raise public awareness and ensure that more people benefit from the program.
“We are asking the help of the local government units para ma-entice yung mga constituents nila na pumunta sa Konsulta provider, and also for the media, para lalong maabot namin yung mga tao,” he said.
Ibay shared that in the provinces of Occidental and Oriental Mindoro, Local Health Insurance Officers are going above and beyond.
“Actually po dito sa Occidental at Oriental Mindoro ay umaakyat po ng bundok yung mga Local Health Insurance Officers po namin. Umaakyat po sila ng bundok, tumatawid po sila sa mga sapa minsan, natutulog pa po minsan sa bundok so talagang inaabot po nila kahit na mahirap pa yung terrain para ma-reach natin sila,” he said.
PhilHealth continues to push efforts to expand access to healthcare services, especially in underserved areas as the Konsulta program grows and evolves. (AS/PIA MIMAROPA-Oriental Mindoro)
