Solo parents, dependents get PhilHealth coverage

The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) has expanded health insurance coverage for solo parents and their dependents.

The state insurer said yesterday the expanded coverage is provided under PhilHealth Circular 2026-0015, signed by PhilHealth acting president and CEO Beverly Lorraine Ho, which took effect on 26 September.

Under the circular, solo parents and their qualified dependents are entitled to the full range of benefits available to members of the National Health Insurance Program, including PhilHealth’s Yaman ng Kalusugan Program (YAKAP) and Guaranteed and Accessible Medications for Outpatient Treatment programs.

The circular also provides that solo parents and their dependents are covered by PhilHealth’s “No Co-payment” or “No Balance Billing” policy.

“Likewise, Solo Parents and their dependents shall be entitled to the ‘No Co-payment’/‘No Balance Billing’ policy,” the circular states.

Under the YAKAP program, launched in July 2025 and replacing the Konsulta program, members get free, regular medical check-ups.

The YAKAP program, launched in August last year, aims to reduce out-of-pocket health costs for Filipino families by making essential medications free.

Hospitals must be accredited

PhilHealth’s no co-payment and no balance billing policy enforces no out-of-pocket spending during inpatient confinement in accredited hospitals.

The PhilHealth circular also states that “the national government shall pay the premium contributions of solo parents, provided that the premium contributions of the solo parents in the formal economy shall be shared equally by their employers and the national government.”

The circular was issued pursuant to Section 2(a) of Republic Act (RA) 11861, or the Expanded Solo Parents Welfare Act, which lapsed into law in 2022.

RA 11861 amended RA 8972, or the Solo Parents’ Welfare Act of 2000.