ANGELES CITY – Individuals seeking to have children of their own may soon be able to have infertility treatments covered in their health plans or insurance through the passage of House Bill No. 10003, to be known as the “Infertility Treatment Coverage Act,” filed by Pampanga 1st District Rep. Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin, Jr. on July 2.
Minimum covered services shall include ovulation induction, artificial insemination, in-vitro fertilization (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), egg freezing, and such other infertility services, medicines, diagnostics, and procedures as may be determined by the Department of Health.
“Many people desire to have children of their own, but not everyone is fortunate enough or have the genetic capability to do so. While there are scientific procedures that may aid them, these services are often very expensive,” said Lazatin. “This measure allows those people to avail of such treatments under their health plans or insurance, which will lower the costs that they will have to incur.”
Under HB 10003, the DOH shall issue clinical guidelines and minimum standards for infertility treatments benefits, including eligibility criteria, documentation requirements, covered services and medicines, and patient safety safeguards.
According to the 2025 National Demographic and Health Survey, the country’s record-low total fertility rate (TFR) of 1.7 children per woman aged 15 to 49 years in 2025 shows a continued and significant decline from 4.1 children per woman recorded in 1993.
The TFR refers to the average number of children a woman would have by the end of her childbearing years if she were to bear children at the current age-specific fertility rates.
While the government, through the DOH, has been campaigning for couples to adopt family planning methods, the continuous decline in fertility might later put the country among those with an aging population.
Currently, the 1.7 TFR is below the 2.1 “replacement level fertility” rate identified by the United Nations Population Division, which represents the average number of children a woman would need to have to reproduce herself.
In the absence of migration, a generation replaces itself through a replacement level fertility sustained over a sufficiently long period. Team Lazatin Media
