PHILHEALTH ACKNOWLEDGES HUGE HELP OF PANGASINAN’S GUICONSULTA HEALTH PROGRAM

March 16, 2025 Provincial

DAGUPAN, Pangasinan

The Office of PhilHealth Region 1 acknowledged the Government Unified Incentives for Medical Consultations (GUICONSULTA) Program of the Province of Pangasinan aiding to concretize PhilHealth’s “Konsulta” program. PhilHealth Region 1 Vice-President Dennis B. Adre said “Konsulta” is a benefit mandated by the Universal Health Care Law, provides free medical consultations, health screenings, selected laboratory tests, diagnostics, and medicines for pre-existing conditions. He explained that it is an outpatient program of PhilHealth that started in year 2020. Each PhilHealth member and dependents are entitled to PHP1,700 worth of Konsulta benefits annually.

Andre explained they negotiated with the Pangasinan provincial government to provide them with a whole provincial health network but
before that, the agency started to accredit individual rural health units (RHUs) of the different towns of Pangasinan. “Now they are organized as one provincial health network,” he stressed. The GUICONSULTA was started by Pangasinan Governor Ramon Guico III as
manifestation of his dedication, he said, to deliver “Preventive Health Care Program” to the grassroots level. It was launched on October 2024 immediately after the Sangguniang Panlalawigan passed an ordinance for the purpose.

Guico III observed that there are those who do not have access to PhilHealth prompting his administration to initiate aggressive step to bring the program closer to the people. Through the “Guiconsulta Program”, the provincial government enrolled the non-PhilHealth member residents with the use of an accredited electronic management record as mandated by PhilHealth. With an initial funding of P300 million after the ordinance was passed, the Provincial Government allotted P400-P500 million to ensure its smooth and effective
implementation where the biggest number of Pangasinenses will really benefit.

As of March 3, 2025, there are already 1.3 million Pangasinenses who have benefited from the program. Adre said the GUICONSULTA is a welcome development as it helps the agency to promote the availment of actual services by the members. According to him, PhilHealth did not even have yet paid a single cent because the provincial government had the initiative in handling the financial requirements for the GUICONSULTA Program.

Artemio A. Dumlao/ABN