Enchong Dee shared why health insurance became even more important to him after a medical emergency landed him in the emergency room, where he incurred a hospital bill of around PHP40,000 for just a few hours of treatment.
The actor opened up about the experience during an interview with PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) at his launch as the newest ambassador of Sun Life GREPA held on July 11, 2026, at One Ayala Mall, Makati City.
According to Enchong, the incident happened in 2025 while he was filming ABS-CBN's adaptation of It's Okay to Not Be Okay.
He recalled falling ill after eating undercooked fish during a family dinner.
Enchong shared: "If you get to watch the, the series, one of the scenes there wherein yung nasa National Museum kami. The day before that, I got hospitalized.
"I brought myself to the ER because apparently the night before... dinner with my family, it's a Sunday, I ate yung, yung hilaw na pampano na hindi ko alam na, na hindi pala...
"Actually, my mom was like, 'Gusto mo ipaluto pa natin, anak?' And then sabi ko, 'Hindi, okay na iyan, ma, kaya ng tiyan koi yan.'
"And then only to realize that after a few hours, nag-start na yung inflammation sa mukha ko and then, I had to bring myself to the hospital."
Despite the health scare, Enchong was determined not to miss work.
He said he stayed in the emergency room for only about three hours because he had an early call time the next day.
"And then I was just there for three hours kasi sabi ko, 'Okay, I need to... I need to leave the hospital as soon as possible...'
"Because 7 A.M., yung call time ko sa set. And we don't have any other schedule because I'm transferring to another set after that day."
What surprised Enchong the most was how quickly hospital expenses piled up.
"And then, I was just there for three hours, and then yung bill ko parang PHP40,000 for three hours.
"I mean, of course, we do everything for our health. Kahit anong pang-emergency, ano, we really... we really pay for that.
"And then sabi ko, 'Okay na iyan. Para naman sa kalusugan iyan. Para naman sa kaligtasan ko.'"
Enchong, fortunately, was able to reimburse the money he spent for his hospital visit.
The experience eventually became a reminder of the value of being financially prepared for medical emergencies.
He shared that a week later, his mother informed him that the expenses could be covered through their health insurance.
"And then the weekend after, I talked to my mom. Sabi niya, 'Anak, i-send mo sa akin yung resibo kasi pwede natin ma-claim yan sa health insurance.'
"Sabi ko, ganun pala ka ano yun, ganun pala ka... yung feeling na okay, hindi mo kailangan gastusin yung pera mo ngayon.
"Yung binaon mo, yung prinotektahan mo from the past, nagagamit mo na siya ngayon.
"Yung parang worries mo for that particular day, nawawala because you protected yourself ahead of time."
ENCHONG DEE'S GOLDEN ADVICE
The incident changed Enchong's perspective on financial protection and reinforced the importance of securing health insurance while still healthy.
He said the experience made him realize that more Filipinos should understand how health insurance can help ease the financial burden of unexpected medical expenses.
As he put it: "So sabi ko, 'Okay, I need to keep telling people to get their health insurance because kailangan natin ito lahat.'"
Having gone through that experience himself, Enchong revealed what he considers a golden rule in life: prevention is always better than cure.
Reflecting on the lessons he has learned about health and finances, he said:
"This is just a recent parang reflection that I was thinking a few days ago.
"Sabi ko, pag komportable yung buhay natin, kapag nasa comfortable era tayo ng buhay natin, katulad sa akin, may trabaho tayo, nakakapagbakasyon tayo, I think that's the perfect time to somehow control your grip when it comes to money.
"But, at the same time, kapag dumating naman yung uncomfortable time natin, kapag medyo mahirap yung panahon, may war, ang laki ng inflation, we loosen that grip sa money.
"What I'm trying to say is let's protect ourselves. May it be health, may it be our financial health, may it be our spiritual health, may it be our intellectual or our mental health.
"Kailangan protektahan natin yung sarili natin bago pa dumating yung sakuna, bago pa dumating yung paghihirap.
"We have to protect ourselves early on, ahead of time. And then pasasalamatan mo na lang yung sarili mo dahil kapag dumating yung panahon na yun.
"And I'm telling you, lahat tayo pagdadaanan natin yun. Life is always a cycle. Pagdadaanan natin yun.
"At least meron tayo panghahawakan, meron tayo masasanla, at meron tayo pupuntahan."
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