KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (July 6): According to the Ministry of Health (MoH), 151,729 persons, or 33 percent of the 457,462 people who received the Skim Peduli Kesihatan untuk B40 (PeKa B40) health screening program, have been diagnosed with at least one non-communicable condition. The PeKa B40 2019-2020 Report, which was released today, has “worrying facts,” according to Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba.
“This figure includes those in the B40 Group who had no idea they had non-communicable diseases including diabetes (10.4 percent), high cholesterol (29.8%), high blood pressure (13.8 percent), mental health issues like depression (1.6 percent) and anxiety (1.4 percent), and so on. They had never had a health screening before, let alone sought follow-up therapy, prior to the PeKa B40 health test “In a statement issued today, the minister added.
He explained that PeKa B40 is a government initiative to provide long-term healthcare to the less fortunate, and that it is managed by ProtectHealth Corporation Sdn Bhd (ProtectHealth), a non-profit subsidiary wholly owned by the Ministry of Health (MoH), and that it offers four benefits, including health screening, health aid up to RM20,000, cancer treatment incentive of RM1,000, and tracking.
The scheme, which focuses on non-communicable diseases, is free for all Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH)/Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (BPR) recipients and their spouses aged 40 and up, according to Adham Baba.
He went on to say that a total of RM62.5 million has been invested to aid in the early detection of B40 Group non-communicable diseases. He highlighted that RM38.5 million was spent on Health Screening benefits, which include obtaining health histories, physical examinations, mental health screenings, breast and prostate screenings, as well as urine and blood testing.
“For the Health Aid benefit, a total of RM20.9 million was spent to fund the application of ten types of medical devices, including stents for the heart, artificial joints, hearing aids, pacemakers, prostheses and implants for the spine, prostheses and orthoses of limb bones, lenses for cataract patients, respiratory therapy devices and oxygen concentrators, nutritional support aids, and wheelchairs,” according to the statement.
“Through its strategic purchasing skills, ProtectHealth was able to successfully negotiate the price for Drug Eluting Stent (DES) for PeKa B40 patients, saving the government more than RM10 million,” he added.
The minister said that RM1.6 million was spent as a result of the Completing Cancer Treatment Incentive, which was intended to encourage cancer patients to finish their prescribed treatment.
He stated that a total of RM1.5 million has been spent on the Transport Incentive benefit through to December 31, 2020./n
