the law clearly stated their right to be covered by
medical insurances.
The Insurance Commission issued Circular
Letter No. 2019-30: Guidelines in the
HMO Underwriting of Applicants with
Actual, Perceived, Or Suspected Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Status instructing
private Health Maintenance Organizations
(HMOs) on the underwriting of HMO product
applicants with actual, perceived, or suspected
HIV status.
The increased incidence of HIV means a parallel
increase in the provision of ART to PLHIVs.
To ensure that services will be available across
the country, the Philippine Health Insurance
Corporation (PHIC) issued PhilHealth Circular
No. 2018-0004: Accreditation of Stand-Alone
HIV Treatment Hubs and Satellite Treatment
Hubs as Providers of PhilHealth Outpatient HIV /
AIDS Treatment (OHAT) Package.
Furthermore, PLHIVs are now automatically
covered under the National Health Insurance
Program as mandated by the Universal Health
Care Act. The PhilHealth Circular No. 20190010: Guidelines on the Granting of Immediate
Eligibility of Members is likewise applicable to all
PLHIV.
Following the issuance of Administrative Order
2014 – 0034 laying out the guidelines on the
provision of ART, a PLHIV is now automatically
enrolled once found to be HIV positive. To
shorten the waiting time for confirmatory tests
and to immediately start the initiation to ART of a
PLHIV, DOH now uses the rapid HIV diagnostic
algorithm (rHIVda) for HIV confirmatory test.
Subsequently the Department issued DOH
Administrative Order 2019 – 0001 to set the
Guidelines on the Implementation of rHIVda.
Other policies enacted by other agencies:
1. Interim Guidelines on the Implementation
of Education and Comprehensive Health
Intervention for Key Populations and
Vulnerable Communities in HIV and AIDS (2
consolidated policies)
2. Adoption of PSMID Clinical Practice
Guidelines on the Prevention, Diagnosis and
Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in
HIV Infected Adults and Adolescents in the
Philippines
3. Interim Guidelines on the Medical
Management of PLHIV and Protocol on
Precaution Against HIV Transmission
During Medical, Surgical and Other Related
Procedures
4. Interim Guidelines on Subsidizing Medical
Expenses Incurred by Indigent and Financially
Incapacitated PLHIV in DOH-Designated HIV
Treatment Hubs
5. Interim Guidelines on STI, HIV and AIDS
Prevention and Control for Drug Abuse
Treatment Rehabilitation Centers
6. Revised Guidelines on Prevention of Mother to
Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT)
7. Revised policies and guidelines in the conduct
of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
Testing Services (HTS) in Health Facilities
8. Policy Guidelines on the Implementation
of Care and Support for Affected Families,
Intimate Partners, Significant Others and
Children Living with HIV by the Department
of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)
9. Policy Guidelines on Accreditation of the
Institutions/Organizations that Train HIV
Organization: DSWD
Enhancing Protection Systems for
Women and Children
In the area of elimination of violence against
children and women, the following policy
measures have been developed/implemented and/
or proposed:
1. Safe Spaces Act. Republic Act No. 11313
otherwise known as the Safe Spaces Act was
signed by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on
April 17, 2019. The law took effect on August
3, 2019. The law addresses gaps in the legal
framework by recognizing sexual harassment
committed between peers, by a subordinate
to a superior, by a student to a teacher, or by a
trainee to a trainer. It also outlines additional
duties and corresponding liabilities for
27 2019 Annual Report Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012
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