A TOTAL of 68 public health service providers in Davao Region are accredited by the regional Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth-Davao) as part of the Konsultang Sulit at Tama (Konsulta) Package program.
During the Kapehan sa Davao media forum on November 14, PR Officer Johanna Blason said that PhilHealth-Davao prioritized increasing the number of providers in the region before they could have more members register for the Konsulta Package.
Based on the official list of PhilHealth as of September 22, Davao del Sur and Davao City have 28 accredited providers, followed by 14 in Davao Oriental, 10 in Davao del Norte, seven in Davao de Oro, and one in Davao Occidental.
At the same time, Blason said there are five providers from the private sector, four in Davao City and one in Davao del Norte.
“Kailangan daghan providers sa konsulta para ang mga members tanan, ato sila ma-entice mag register (We need to have more providers so more members will be enticed to register). Karon ang mga naka-avail dili pa kaayo daghan (We do not have a lot of registered members yet, for now),” she said.
By January next year, Blason added their office aims to have more members register for the Konsulta Package since there are already more providers spread out in the region.
Meanwhile, the premium collection rate will increase to 4.5 percent in 2023 from 3 percent this year, as part of the increments or gradual adjustments to be implemented from 2020 to 2025.
According to Filbert Sollesta, chief of PhilHealth-Davao’s Field Operation Division, the 4.5 percent is based on the basic salary of between P10,000 to P80,000.
“Pursuant to Republic Act 11223, naka schedule gyod ta mutaas ang premium for next year 2023 (It’s already scheduled that the premium would increase next year). This is actually the intention of the Universal Health Care law to fund the expansion of the health services provided by the national govt, including our partners in the private sector,” Sollesta said.
He added that the increment for this year was delayed since the 3 percent premium rate was retained since 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
By the end of the gradual adjustments in 2025, the premium rate will be 5 percent. ICM