House panel OKs bill providing free annual medical checkup for Filipinos

The House Committee on Health on Wednesday approved the measure seeking to provide free annual medical checkup for Filipinos.

In its virtual hearing, the panel approved the substitute measure for House Bill 4093, or the proposed Free Annual Medical Checkup Act, authored by Anakalusugan party-list Representative Mike Defensor.

"The recently-passed Universal Health Care Law highlights the importance of primary healthcare in promoting the health and wellness of the Filipino people," Defensor said in sponsoring the measure.

"One of the aspects of primary healthcare is preventive care under which medical checkups fall and includes physical examinations and diagnostic tests," he added.

The initial version of the bill provided free annual medical checkup which included diagnostic and laboratory tests for complete blood count, urinalysis, stool analysis, chest x-ray, and complete physical exam.

However, after deliberating the measure in the technical working group, it was decided to limit the tests to blood sugar and total cholesterol level with the possibility of expanding it depending on the capability of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., Defensor said.

"We look at the expense of these two tests per person to be covered to be less than P500 which can be expanded depending on the capability of the agency in the future," he said.

Defensor said monitoring these key indicators "would significantly reduce mortality and other allied medical expenses."

"In the long run, our small initial investment in giving free annual testing for blood sugar and cholesterol levels would mean less expenses for the government in the future," he said.

Following the approval in the committee level, the measure will be sent to the plenary for its deliberation and consideration. —KBK, GMA News