The Ilocos Norte government and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) here are looking forward to the accreditation of all rural health facilities here as primary healthcare providers. Of the 21 towns and two cities of Ilocos Norte, Eduardo U. Dularte, chief social insurance officer of PhilHealth, said in a media interview on Monday that at least four health facilities are now offering PhilHealth-Konsulta package that have preventive benefit deals for members and their dependents. These are the Solsona Rural Health Unit (RHU), Black Nazarene Hospital in San Nicolas town, Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center in Batac City and the MSR Healthcare Clinic in this city. 'The RHUs in Pagudpud, Nueva Era and Marcos just submitted their application and it is now in the process,' Duarte added. Once accredited as a Philhealth-Konsulta facility, Dularte said people will no longer be afraid to see a doctor because the outpatient package includes consultation, laboratory examinations, and drugs and medicines with prescriptions, that are free for members and their dependents, provided they register and avail of it in a government hospital-provider or a personal co-pay of PHP500 in a private provider. 'The good news is for every Filipino to choose their preferred healthcare facility which provides free medical consultation, laboratories, drugs and medicines that are free,' he said. In Ilocos Norte, Governor Matthew Joseph Manotoc is targeting 100 percent coverage of the province's rural health Units and district hospitals as Konsulta providers. Following a series of meetings with provincial and municipal officials, including the municipal and city health officers of Ilocos Norte, PhilHealth hopes that by the end of this year, the more than 650,000 residents of the province will be able to have equitable access to healthcare services.
Source: Philippines News Agency