Outsourcing Alert

Coverage of solo parents and their children or Dependents to the National Health Insurance Program (NHIP)

06 Oct 2026 4 min read

PhilHealth released Circular No. 2026-0015, clarifying the full range of National Health Insurance Program (NHIP) benefits to solo parents and their children or dependents.

All solo parents and their children or qualified dependents registered in the Solo Parents Office / Solo Parents Division (SPO/SPD) shall be automatically covered in the NHIP.  

The above-mentioned solo parents shall be enrolled with PhilHealth as principal members under the “Indirect Contributor” as membership type and “Solo Parent” as subtype in accordance with the registration and validation procedures prescribed under this PhilHealth Circular.  

Only those with valid Solo Parent Identification Card (SPIC) shall be registered or tagged as “Indirect Contributors Solo Parent.” Applicants shall be advised of the importance of securing the SPIC from the SPO/SPD of the concerned LGU to update their membership records with PhilHealth.  

Solo parents who also fall under the sub-categories of indigent, senior citizens, Persons with Disability (PWD), or other applicable Indirect Contributor subcategories shall retain their existing classification under said sub-categories. However, their solo parent details, including the Solo Parent Identification Card (SPIC) number and its period of validity, shall be entered into their record. This is to ensure that the qualified dependents of solo parents, twenty-two (22) years old and below, remain covered.

Premium Contributions:

  1. Pursuant to R.A. No. 11861, the premium contributions of solo parents shall be paid by the national government, provided that the premium contributions of the solo parents in the formal economy shall be shared equally by their employers and the national government.  
  2. For purposes of premium remittance, the employer share shall be reflected and remitted in accordance with the applicable premium contribution schedule, while the portion corresponding to the national government share shall be reflected in the system as non-collectible from the solo parent, subject to PhilHealth’s system and operational guidelines pertaining to the EPRS and Remittance Report (RFi).

Benefit entitlement:  

  1. Solo parents and their qualified dependents shall be subject to the existing validation requirements under prevailing PhilHealth policies for benefit availment. They shall be entitled to the full range of benefits accorded to all members of the NHIP, including PhilHealth YAKAP and GAMOT.  
  2. They shall select an accredited PhilHealth YAKAP Provider of their choice and undergo the required First Patient Encounter (FPE), subject to the applicable rules on provider assignment or selection, transfer, and benefit availment.  
    Likewise, solo parents and their dependents shall be entitled to the “No Co-payment” / “No Balance Billing” policy.

PhilHealth Circular No. 2026-0015 was released on September 26, 2026. 

For a complete copy of the circular, please visit the official PhilHealth website at www.philhealth.gov.ph.

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