(Photo from Leachon’s Facebook profile)
January 20, 2016, 3:46p.m. – A THOMASIAN health reform advocate who lobbied for the passage of the Sin Tax Law is set to join the board of the country’s national health insurance program.
Dr. Anthony Leachon, a Faculty of Medicine and Surgery alumnus, was appointed Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) director on Tuesday, Jan. 19.
Leachon told the Varsitarian he would continue working on his goal to improve the country’s healthcare system through preventive health education.
“The PhilHealth post will allow me to share the advocacy on a bigger scale,” Leachon said.
Leachon also said he would focus on curbing non-communicable diseases like stroke, coronary artery disease, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes, and on easing “health inequality” in terms of human resources, health financing and infrastructure.
He urged aspiring Thomasian physicians to be always ready to serve the country. “I think we need to be resonant and relevant to the country’s needs. We need to help the government,” he said.
Leachon got his medical degree from UST in 1985 and was a topnotcher in the 1986 physician licensure examinations.
Leachon is an internist and a cardiologist at the Manila Doctors Hospital. He was previously president of the Philippine College of Physicians Foundation. Clarence I. Hormachuelos
