Parañaque 2nd District Representative Brian Raymund Yamsuan urged Philhealth to conduct a heightened information campaign on the financial protection and other benefits available to Filipinos under the government’s national health insurance program.
Yamsuan pointed out that many Filipinos remain unaware of the benefits they can get from Philhealth, or the fact that all citizens have automatically become Philhealth members under the Universal Health Care Law.
“In Parañaque, for instance, many of our kababayans do not know that they can benefit from Phillhealth benefits like YAKAP (Yaman ng Kalusugan) where they can get access to free consultations, and P20,000 worth of medicines every year,” Yamsuan said during the first day of the bilateral conference committee meeting on the proposed 2026 national budget.
Yamsuan suggested that Philhealth increase its presence on social media and coordinate with the local government units (LGUs) to complement this with community-based information drives about the benefits offered by the national health insurer
Yamsuan, who is a member of the House contingent to the conference committee, made the manifestation during the deliberations on the proposed budget of the Department of Health (DOH).
Senator Erwin Tulfo agreed with Yamsuan and joined the latter in urging Philhealth to step up its information campaign about its benefit packages.
A recent independent study analyzing outpatients’ knowledge about YAKAP concluded that public awareness of the program’s specific benefits “remains limited and fragmented, with many Filipinos familiar with Philhealth as an institution but not with the precise components or registration procedures of the outpatient package.”
Yamsuan suggested that Philhealth increase its presence on social media and coordinate with the local government units (LGUs) to complement this with community-based information drives about the benefits offered by the national health insurer.
YAKAP expanded the previous Konsulta program of Philhealth to include not only free access to medical consultations and certain laboratory tests, but also cancer screenings, and an expanded list of covered medicines worth P20,000 per year.
“This is a laudable initiative of our President (Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.), which, however, many Filipinos do not know about. Kung alam man nila na may YAKAP, hindi nila alam kung saang YAKAP accredited clinic pupunta, o kung saang YAKAP accredited pharmacy makakakuha ng libreng gamot,” Yamsuan said.
(Even if they know about YAKAP, they are at a loss as to which YAKAP accredited clinic to go to, or in which YAKAP accredited pharmacy they can get free medicines.)
Many Filipinos also do not know that they can avail of packages like Z Benefits, which covers life-threatening illnesses such as cancer, heart surgery and orthopedic implants, along with outpatient support for those with mental health conditions, among other benefits under Philhealth, Yamsuan said.
“A weak information campaign defeats the Philhealth’s purpose of making quality healthcare accessible and affordable to every Filipino,” Yamsuan said.
