THE Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) yesterday urged college students to register with the agency to avoid future hassles in the event they would require medical services.
The Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) had earlier said college students shall be required to have PhilHealth or another medical insurance coverage before returning to in-person classes.
According to the IATF, all college students above 21 may enroll with PhilHealth as indigent members because they have no visible means of income. The IATF said those below 21 may be classified as dependents of their parents or legal guardians.
“To our students, it is very important for them to get registered. Just in case they get exposed or get COVID-19, then they can immediately avail of COVID-19 benefits,” PhilHealth spokesperson Dr. Shirley Domingo said in a televised public briefing.
“We encourage them to be registered in our database so that by the time they will need the services of PhilHealth, they are already in our database and are considered eligible,” she added.
Sen. Christopher Go, however, urged the IATF to make the resumption of face-to-face classes for college students simpler by not requiring them to have private insurance coverage.
Go, Senate committee on health and demography chairman, said requiring college students to be insured before they can attend physical classes is an added burden to their families amid the pandemic.
Go was referring to IATF Resolution No. 164 which states that only fully vaccinated students with health insurance coverage are allowed to participate in in-person classed that have been permitted by the government in areas under Alert Level 1. Universities and colleges in areas under the said classification may conduct physical classes at full capacity.
Domingo said all college students may file their applications at PhilHealth offices nationwide. She said there are also schools and universities that offer to facilitate the application of their students with PhilHealth.
“That’s better as it will be easier for students to file their applications,” said Domingo.
Go said getting vaccinated can be considered as the “best insurance” and viable way to better protect Filipinos from the virus. — With Raymond Africa
