Published March 2, 2023, 9:43 AM
Davao City 1st district Rep. Paolo Duterte has highlighted the need to provide free annual medical checkups for all Filipinos to ensure that they get access to preventive care and are able to address potentially serious health issues early on.
Duterte said that, with all Filipinos automatically becoming Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) members under the Universal Health Care Act, free medical check-ups should form part of their benefits.
For this purpose, Duterte, Benguet Rep. Eric Yap and ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Edvic Yap filed House Bill (HB) No.5074 with seeks to automatically entitle every Filipino to free blood sugar and cholesterol tests each year.
The measure, titled, “An Act providing for a free annual medical check-up for Filipinos”, has already been approved by the House Committee on Health.
“To promote health, identify risks, and ensure early diagnosis, PhilHealth shall establish a system that allows access to a free annual medical check-up and ensure that Filipinos shall be accorded the quality health care services that they deserve,” read HB No.5074.
Duterte said that “Investing in free medical check-ups for every Filipino will help save lives and ensure that no one gets left behind when it comes to health care.”
Detecting potentially serious medical conditions in its early stages will not only benefit every Filipino but also PhilHealth, as this would bring down the costs of providing coverage for expensive medical procedures that usually come with treating life-threatening diseases, Duterte added.
Under the bill, Filipinos can avail of the free medical check-up in any government-run hospital or medical institution.
On top of free cholesterol and blood sugar tests, the three lawmakers also proposed the inclusion of expanded laboratory and diagnostic tests in the free annual medical check-up benefit “subject to the availability of Philhealth funds”.
“The State is tasked to institutionalize regular check-ups for its citizens in order to determine their potential health concerns and avoid further complications. Every citizen must be able to exercise his or her right to health without incurring any financial burden,” the bill’s authors said.
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