10/10/2026
HOHGP welcomes PhilHealth Circular on PWD coverage, calls for effective implementation and disability-specific health benefits
Official Statement of Support for PhilHealth Circular 2026-0017
and Related Recommendations
October 10, 2026
The Hard of Hearing Group Philippines (HOHGP), Inc. fully supports the issuance of PhilHealth Circular No. 2026-0017, "Coverage of Persons with Disability in the National Health Insurance Program." We welcome this important development toward realizing the right to health of persons with disabilities, including persons with hearing disabilities, and ensuring that the legal guarantees under Republic Act No. 11228 and the Universal Health Care Act are translated into actual protection.
For years, HOHGP, through its President, Vins Balingan, has consistently raised the implementation gap in the automatic PhilHealth coverage of persons with disabilities, including the continued collection from the salaries of employed persons with disabilities of premium contributions that should not be charged to them. This concern has been brought to various government agencies, consultations, public fora, policy discussions, and written submissions involving disability advocates and other stakeholders.
The issuance of this Circular is a welcome step toward addressing these longstanding concerns. It establishes procedures for verifying disability status, updating membership records, reclassifying eligible members, and implementing the corresponding premium subsidy. In particular, the provision that the National Government’s share of the premium for employed persons with disabilities must be treated as non-collectible from the member is an important safeguard against improper deductions.
CLEAR GUIDELINES MUST NOW TRANSLATE INTO SIMPLER PROCEDURES AND ACTUAL COMPLIANCE
The Circular provides specific procedures for registration, updating, and reclassification, including walk-in and employer-facilitated processes. These should provide sufficient guidance to concerned persons with disabilities, Persons with Disability Affairs Offices (PDAOs), PhilHealth offices, and employers. They should be implemented in a manner that simplifies compliance, cuts red tape, and avoids making persons with disabilities repeatedly prove their eligibility because government records have not been properly updated or matched.
At the same time, HOHGP recognizes that actual implementation presents challenges that must be addressed promptly.
First, the transition from the Department of Health’s Philippine Registry of Persons with Disability (PRPWD) to the Unified Persons with Disabilities ID System (UPWDIS), jointly administered by the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), requires effective coordination and reliable interoperability among the agencies and their respective databases.
Second, inconsistencies in local registration and reporting remain a concern. There are instances in which a PWD identification card has already been issued but the corresponding record does not appear in the national registry. Such discrepancies must not become an additional burden on the person with a disability, particularly when the individual has already complied with the requirements imposed by the concerned local government unit.
Third, both public and private employers need clear operational instructions on how to implement the Circular, especially where payroll and premium-deduction systems are automated. Employers must be able to process and correctly implement the Circular without unnecessary delays or continued deductions from employees of amounts that should be borne by the National Government.
We therefore call on Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, Department of Health, National Council on Disability Affairs, Department of Social Welfare and Development, local government units of DILG Philippines, and concerned employers to establish effective coordination, consistent procedures, accessible grievance and correction mechanisms, and timely resolution of registry discrepancies. Implementation must be measured not merely by the issuance of guidelines or the number of records processed, but by whether eligible persons with disabilities actually receive the coverage and financial protection guaranteed by law.
BEYOND MEMBERSHIP COVERAGE: THE NEED FOR DISABILITY-SPECIFIC HEALTH BENEFIT PACKAGES
While the Circular addresses a fundamental issue of health insurance coverage, automatic enrollment alone does not guarantee that persons with disabilities can obtain the health services, technologies, and interventions they need. HOHGP calls on PhilHealth and the concerned government agencies to advance the development and implementation of specific, adequately funded health benefit packages responsive to the needs of persons with disabilities.
For persons with hearing disabilities, HOHGP specifically calls for:
1. Standalone hearing assessment packages across the life course. Hearing tests should be available as a distinct, accessible health benefit from infancy and childhood through adulthood and older age. Hearing assessment must not be confined to existing pediatric interventions or depend solely on whether a person can afford an out-of-pocket consultation. Early identification, periodic assessment, timely diagnosis, and appropriate referral are essential components of comprehensive ear and hearing care.
2. Coverage for hearing assistive technologies. PhilHealth should develop a benefit package for appropriate hearing technologies, including conventional behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids, CROS and BiCROS systems, monaural hearing aids, and other clinically appropriate devices. Eligibility and coverage should respond to individual hearing needs and clinical assessment, with workable arrangements for fitting, adjustment, maintenance, repairs, and replacement where indicated. Access must not depend exclusively on personal finances, charity, or occasional donations.
3. A separate cochlear implant benefit package. Cochlear implantation should be addressed through its own dedicated benefit package, distinct from the hearing assistive technology package. Coverage should consider the full continuum of care, including assessment, surgery, the implant and associated components, programming, rehabilitation, and necessary maintenance. A comprehensive package must account for the substantial initial and continuing costs involved rather than treating implantation as a one-time surgical intervention.
4. Tiered accreditation of hearing care providers and facilities. PhilHealth should establish a tiered accreditation system for hearing aid centers, ENT specialists, audiologists, and other qualified facilities and professionals providing ear and hearing care. The system should set clear, proportionate standards for each accreditation level, including professional qualifications, diagnostic capabilities, equipment, service delivery, referral arrangements, and quality assurance. Accreditation requirements should be appropriate to the services provided, allowing qualified providers and facilities with varying capacities to participate without compromising patient safety and quality of care. This would expand the network of accessible, accredited providers, particularly outside major urban centers, and enable more people to avail themselves of PhilHealth-covered hearing assessments, hearing technologies, and related services. By increasing provider participation and integrating these services into health benefit packages, PhilHealth can help reduce the substantial out-of-pocket expenses that currently prevent many persons with hearing disabilities from obtaining timely and appropriate care.
These proposals are consistent with the need to move from nominal insurance coverage toward meaningful financial protection and equitable access to health services. The development of these packages should involve persons with hearing disabilities and their organizations, alongside ENT specialists, audiologists, speech and language professionals, health facilities, and other relevant stakeholders.
A DEDICATED AND PREDICTABLE BUDGET FOR THE STATUTORY PREMIUM SUBSIDY
Finally, HOHGP calls for the operationalization of the statutory financing arrangements under Republic Act No. 11228, in conjunction with Republic Act No. 11223. This includes ensuring that the National Government’s obligation to subsidize the premiums of eligible persons with disabilities is supported by a clear, predictable, and adequately funded allocation in the General Appropriations Act (GAA), consistent with the applicable statutory funding provisions.
The automatic coverage mandated by law must be matched by automatic and reliable financing. Without adequate budgetary provision, effective release and utilization of funds, and transparent monitoring, the statutory guarantee risks being undermined by administrative and financial bottlenecks.
HOHGP urges the relevant government agencies and Congress to ensure that the funding mechanism operates as intended and that the resources necessary to sustain PWD coverage are provided, accounted for, and used for their intended purpose.
THE WAY FORWARD
HOHGP commends PhilHealth for taking this important step and recognizes the continuing work needed to make its provisions effective. We look forward to implementation that removes improper financial burdens from employed persons with disabilities, simplifies access to coverage, strengthens coordination across government registries, and expands meaningful access to disability-specific health services.
For persons with hearing disabilities, the objective must extend beyond being listed in a registry or classified under a membership category. It must include the practical ability to obtain hearing assessments, appropriate hearing technologies, cochlear implant services where indicated, rehabilitation, and other necessary interventions without being excluded by cost or administrative barriers.
The right to health must be realized through both effective insurance coverage and benefits that respond to actual health needs. HOHGP remains committed to constructive engagement with PhilHealth and other concerned agencies toward closing the remaining gaps in the Philippine health system.
FOR REFERENCE:
VINCENT S. BALINGAN, President
HARD OF HEARING GROUP PHILIPPINES (HOHGP), INC.
Viber/WhatsApp: +639156758926
[email protected] | [email protected]
