LINGAYEN, PANGASINAN An executive of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation. or PhilHealth, commended the province’s GUICONSULTA (Government Unified Incentives for Medical Consultations) and urged other provinces to emulate it.
PhilHealth Vice President for Region 1 Dennis B. Adre said in an interview recently that GUICONSULTA is a commendable program that other provinces should replicate and make it as a model project.
“We have been coordinating with our head office to study and evaluate the Pangasinan Business Model and probably adopt and turn it into a policy,” Adre said.
Adre said that Philhealth has been trying to influence policy with actual good practice.
“What we see in Pangasinan, we hope, will be replicated by all the other provinces,” he said adding that Pangasinan is the first to provide counterpart services.
The GUICONSULTA, a legacy project of Gov. Ramon V. Guico III, was launched in 2024 and aimed to initially enroll at least two milion Pangasinenses.
“The intention is to seek out the 3.2 million population of Pangasinan, get them enrolled into Konsulta and get them to avail of the free services of PhilHealth-accredited facilities, “ Adre stated.
He added that the province’s GUICONSULTA is indeed a welcome development for PhilHealth as it complements the latter’s program by helping them promote the availment of actual services by the members.
Konsulta is an outpatient program of the PhilHealth which started in 2020.
“In Pangasinan, we have started negotiating with the province to engage as a whole provincial health network. But we started out by accrediting individual rural health units of the 48 municipalities. Now, they’re organized as one provincial health network,” he said.
Moreover, Adre said that the capitation worth P1,700 is being paid to the partner accredited facilities to include the 14 hospitals operated by the provincial government for actual services or outpatient services rendered.
The Philhealth VP said the P1,700 capitation goes to the members’ laboratory fees. It is also used for maintenance medicines of the members to include antibiotics, anti-diabetes, and hypertension medicines which is in contrary to what detractors claimed about reimbursements
“In the case of Pangasinan, they have come up with an 80-20 sharing scheme which is provided for in a memorandum of agreement signed by and among the 48 municipalities and cities,” he said.
He added that 80 percent is being held in trust by the province in a special health fund as contained in a resolution. On the other hand, the 20 percent goes directly to the LGUs.
In lauding the scheme, Adre said : “What’s striking about the plans of what we call the Pangasinan Business Model is the intention to invest in infrastructure among others.
They intend to invest it into an Apex Hospital. And they intend to upgrade the existing facilities the province to meet the needs of all our members.”
As to the P300 being given by the provincial government to enrollees, Adre said it did not come from PhilHealth but from the coffers of the province.
“As of now PhilHealth has not been able to pay for that purpose. Our engagement with them as one whole provincial health network, we have not been able to give even a peso,” he stated.
GUICONSULTA was launched by the province as a counterpart service to Philhealth’s Konsulta program.
Expensive diagnostic procedures like mammogram, for example, is included in the free services along with other laboratory services.
(Ruby F. Rayat/PIMRO)
