THIRTY-THREE percent of the lowest income earners who are recipients of government health aid have been diagnosed with at least one non-communicable disease, said Health Minister Dr Adham Baba.

Under Skim Peduli Kesihatan for B40 (PeKa 40), 457,462 individuals underwent health screenings and 151,729 of them were found to have non-communicable diseases, also known as chronic diseases, that were previously undiagnosed.

“This number involves the B40 group who previously never knew they had non-communicable diseases such as diabetes (10.4%), high cholesterol (29.8%), high blood pressure (13.8%), mental problems such as depression (1.6%) and anxiety (1.4%) other than obesity problems and so on,” Adham said in a statement.

“Prior to PeKa B40, they had never undergone a health screening, let alone seek follow-up treatment.”

PeKa 40 gives the B40 group access to up to RM20,000 of health aid, RM1,000 completion of cancer treatment incentive, and up to RM1,000 transport incentive.

Adham said the Health Ministry spent RM62.5 million on the scheme between April 2019 and December 2020.

RM38.5 million was spent on physical and mental health screenings, such as for breast and prostate cancer, and blood and urine tests;  RM20.9 million went to fitting recipients with medical devices such as stents, artificial joints and pacemakers; RM1.6 million to people who successfully completed their cancer treatment; and RM1.5 million to transport incentives

The PeKa scheme is rolled out by the Health Ministry’s non-profit subsidiary ProtectHealth Corporation San Bhd which is also behind the national immunisation programme against Covid-19.

“The public-private partnership with more than 2,112 private general practitioners and 182 private medical laboratories for PeKa B40 is seen as a platform that can further strengthen the country’s healthcare system,” Adham said. – July 6, 2021.