Bill seeks to replicate QC’s ‘Right to Care’ system PH-wide
Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima has filed a bill seeking to institutionalize a “Right to Care” card system that would allow patients to designate who can make medical decisions on their behalf when they are unable to do so
De Lima on Saturday said House Bill No. 7068 incorporates provisions from the Quezon City Right to Care ordinance, which her draft measure seeks to replicate nationwide.
Nontraditional situations
HB 7068, if passed, would allow Filipinos to authorize a health-care proxy who could make medical decisions on their behalf if they are incapacitated.
The proxy would be integrated into the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) and recorded in a secure, centralized Right to Care registry system maintained by the Department of Health.
An immunity provision is included to protect health-care practitioners from liability when they act in good faith in honoring health-care proxies and the decisions of designated health-care agents.
In seeking the bill’s passage, De Lima said it would help address discrimination in health-care settings faced by people from nontraditional households, including solo parents, individuals in nonmarital and same-sex relationships, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
“The current state of Philippine law effectively alienates many adult Filipinos,” De Lima said in her explanatory note.
She noted that loved ones who share caregiving responsibilities “are often denied access to information and decision-making processes involving the health care of their loved ones despite shared lives and mutual caregiving responsibilities.”
Other measures
Sen. Risa Hontiveros as well as Akbayan Representatives Percival Cendaña, Jose Manuel Diokno, and Dadah Kiram Ismula; Dinagat Islands Rep. Arlene Bag-ao and Negros Occidental Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez have filed similar measures in the current Congress.
De Lima said the bill also seeks to guarantee equal protection under the law, promote inclusive and compassionate health services, and address health disparities rooted in social stigma and discrimination, particularly for individuals of diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics.
“In this measure, we give patients the right to choose their loved ones as their health-care agents. As loved ones, they are not only the people who know our thoughts and wishes, not only those who feel our love; they are the source of our strength and resilience, and they are also the ones to whom we entrust our lives and health,” she said.
