Bicol Saro Party-list Brian Yamsuan (Facebook)

Noting that six out of 10 Filipinos die without even being attended to by a physician, a rookie congressman is batting for a law that would provide the people with free annual medical check-ups. 

Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan filed for this purpose House Bill (HB) No.1785 or the proposed Free Annual Medical Check-up Act. 

In justifying his measure, Yamsuan said that providing Filipinos with free yearly check-ups is actually advantageous to the government. 

“In the long run, the investment in extending this free check-up benefit would lead to the government spending less in providing treatment for life-threatening ailments such as diabetes and heart disease, as many Filipinos would have the opportunity to be diagnosed and treated early before their conditions worsen,” he said. 

Under HB No.1785,  all Filipino citizens, by virtue of their membership in the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), as mandated under the Universal Health Care (UHC) Law, “shall be entitled to the applicable benefits under the Philippine Health Insurance Program". 

Such benefits include a free annual medical check-up that shall cover tests for cholesterol and blood sugar. 

The measure also stated that the laboratory and diagnostic tests included in the benefit shall be expanded subject to the availability of PhilHealth funds. 

The bill, which was approved by the House Committee on Health last year, mandates the state health insurer to establish a system that would facilitate the free annual medical check-up benefit. 

Yamsuan pointed out that despite the implementation of the UHC Law and other significant strides in the Philippine health care system, many Filipinos still succumb to diseases that are otherwise preventable and treatable with cost-effective interventions. 

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that as of September 2023, the leading cause of death in the Philippines was ischemic heart disease. This was  followed by neoplasms (e.g. cancer), cerebrovascular diseases (e.g. stroke, aneurysm), diabetes mellitus, and pneumonia.