Professional fees of doctors covered by PWD discounts

Dear PAO,

My daughter who is a person with disability (PWD) will undergo a major surgery this year. While we are aware that we can get discounts for her medicines, we would like to confirm whether the law also grants discounts for PWDs on the professional fee of her doctors. This is because I recently heard some doctors who said that PWD discounts do not apply to their professional fees. I hope you can advise us on what the law says about PWD discount for professional fees of doctors. Thank you for any advice you can give about this. God bless!

Virna

Dear Virna,

The Department of Health (DoH) issued Administrative Order DoH AO 2017-0008, which implements the guidelines of Republic Act (RA) 10754, known as "An Act Expanding the Benefits and Privileges of Persons with Disability," for the provision of medical and health-related discounts and special privileges for persons with disability (PWDs). This administrative order applies to all private and government hospitals and other health facilities, health care professionals, and other establishments providing medical and health-related care and services to PWDs.