AnaKalusugan Party-list Rep. Ray Reyes (Facebook)

There aren't enough accredited service providers under the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.'s (PhilHealth) Konsultasyong Sulit at Tama (Konsulta) package.

AnaKalusugan Party-list Rep. Ray Reyes made this observation Sunday, May 7, and noted that the number of providers isn't enough to cater to PhilHealth members who want to avail of the program.

He cited data from PhilHealth showing that as of March 31, 2023, only 1,931 of the required 5,014 Accredited Konsulta Providers have enrolled in the program.

“Kulang na kulang pa po ang mga providers para maserbisyuhan ang dami ng ating mga PhilHealth members. Sana po paigtingin pa ng PhilHealth ang paghikayat sa mga providers na magpa-accredit at maging bahagi ng Konsulta Package program (The service providers are too few to cater to the sheer number of PhilHealth members. Hopefully PhilHealth steps up its recruitment and accreditation of service providers for its Konsulta Package program),” Reyes said.

"Napakahalaga po ng proyektong ito ng PhilHealth dahil sa pamamagitan nito mabibigyan natin ng serbisyo ang ating mga kababayan lalo na sa mga lugar na hindi madali ang access sa primary healthcare (This project from PhilHealth is very important because it benefits our countrymen from far-flung areas that have no easy access to primary healthcare)," he noted.

Under PhilHealth Circular 2020-0022, the Konsulta Package covers individual-based health services including initial and follow-up primary care consultations, health screening and assessment, and access to selected diagnostic services and medicines.

"We want this initiative to succeed because it is fully in line with AnaKalusugan’s vision to make healthcare accessible to Filipinos," he said.

Reyes, vice chairman of the House Committee on Health, had earlier filed House Bill (HB) No.430, which seeks to give Filipinos free annual medical check-ups. This includes blood sugar and cholesterol tests.

“By providing free annual check-ups, we can identify ailments at the early stages before they get worse," he added.