Right to Care Bill Empowers Diverse Couples in Healthcare
MANILA, Philippines — The newly filed Right to Care Bill aims to grant couples of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity and expression and sexual characteristics (SOGIESC), as well as individuals from non-traditional relationships, the legal authority to care for each other. This proposed law ensures that partners can be recognized as healthcare agents, regardless of marital or legal status.
Akbayan party-list Representative Percival Cendaña, together with fellow lawmakers, introduced House Bill No. 2786 to the House of Representatives. The bill allows common-law partners to make crucial medical decisions on behalf of each other, a move meant to protect the rights of couples whose relationships may not be officially recognized by current laws.
Granting Authority to Healthcare Agents
“The most compassionate and effective care comes from our loved ones. No one knows better what would be good for us other than the people whom we have loved and have been with for a long time,” Cendaña emphasized. “If they are the ones accompanying us during check-ups and if they take care of us when we are sick, they also have the right to decide for our health.”
The bill addresses the burden on hospitals to track down relatives before allowing healthcare decisions. Instead, it allows designated healthcare agents the authority to consent to treatments and interventions, ensuring timely and compassionate care.
Key Provisions and Benefits of the Right to Care Bill
Co-authors of the bill include Akbayan Representatives Chel Diokno and Dadah Kiram-Ismula, along with Dinagat Islands Representative Kaka Bag-ao. They stress that the bill is both practical and life-saving, removing bureaucratic delays in identifying who can make medical decisions for incapacitated patients.
Under the bill, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) will integrate a healthcare proxy system. Every member will have the option to designate a healthcare agent, whose name will appear on PhilHealth membership forms and identification cards.
The healthcare agent’s authority covers decisions such as consenting to bedside care, emergency treatment, diagnostic procedures, life-support interventions like ventilators, and Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) orders. These decisions will take precedence over those made by others, but the bill clarifies this authority is limited strictly to healthcare settings and does not affect legal succession rights.
Empowering Partners and Protecting Rights
“We should not wait until the condition of the patient deteriorates to identify who will make decisions on their behalf,” the lawmakers noted. The healthcare agent also gains the right to access pertinent medical information to make informed choices.
Some local government units (LGUs), such as Quezon City and San Juan City, have already launched similar initiatives. In June 2023, Quezon City rolled out its Right to Care program in local hospitals, empowering same-sex couples and SOGIESC individuals to act for one another in healthcare situations.
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) praised Quezon City in July 2023 for its inclusive healthcare policies, highlighting how the Right to Care card protects queer couples from discrimination and exclusion in medical settings. This card ensures they are recognized and respected in legal and healthcare matters.
As local efforts demonstrate the bill’s importance, the Right to Care Act seeks to institutionalize this compassionate and sensible approach nationwide, safeguarding the healthcare rights of all couples regardless of their relationship status.
For more news and updates on healthcare legislation, visit Filipinokami.com.
