PhilHealth Will Soon Let You Name A Health Proxy For Medical Decisions—And Yes, That Includes LGBTQIA+ Partners

PhilHealth is updating its official membership form to include a field for declaring a "health proxy"—someone a member can designate to act on their behalf when they're unable to make or communicate healthcare decisions themselves.

According to PhilHealth vice president Joseph Anthony Lachica, the update is currently under internal review, with Health Secretary Edwin Mercado saying the new Member Registration Form is expected to be released by the end of September 2026.

And yes, this can include your LGBTQIA+ partner.

The move comes as the Right to Care (RTC) initiatives continue to expand across the country. First launched in Quezon City in 2023, the program allows unmarried or legally unrecognized couples—including LGBTQIA+ couples—to formally recognize each other as decision-makers in medical emergencies. Several local government units across the country have since adopted similar RTC programs.

Under Philippine law, same-sex couples still can't legally marry. That can leave queer couples in a tricky position when it comes to making medical decisions each other, especially in emergencies.

A health proxy field on a national health insurance form could help change that. Instead of leaving partners to explain their relationship—or hope a hospital recognizes their wishes—members will have a formal way to designate who they want recognized as their health proxy.

And this could be part of something bigger.

Senate Bill No. 1985, or the Healthcare Proxy Act, filed by Senator Risa Hontiveros, is still pending in Congress. The bill aims to institutionalize the health proxy system nationwide, going beyond PhilHealth's own membership form.

For now, though, this update is already a pretty meaningful step. Once the new Member Registration Form rolls out, Filipinos will have another formal way to say: this is the person I trust to make decisions for me when I can't.

Because at the end of the day, healthcare doesn't happen in a vacuum. People have partners, chosen families, and loved ones who show up for them—and those relationships deserve to be recognized, too. 🏳️‍🌈