THE registration of college students with the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. or PhilHealth is now a requirement before they can attend face-to-face classes.
The requirement is stated in a joint memorandum issued by the Department of Health (DOH) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
However, PhilHealth clarified that they are simply following the tenets of the DOH-CHED joint memorandum, which requires that “college students who wish to attend face-to-face classes should register first with PhilHealth and other health insurance companies.”
This was the reply of PhilHealth spokesperson Vice President for Corporate Affairs Group Dr. Shirley Domingo to complaints that such a requirement is another hassle and an additional burden to students.
During the Laging Handa public briefing, Domingo said the requirement will serve as a layer of protection for students if in case they contract COVID-19 and other ailments, and it will not be much of a hassle for students themselves if in case they get hospitalized while attending face-to-face classes since they are already registered with the government health insurance firm.
Domingo also reminded that under the Universal Health Care Law, all Filipinos are already members of PhilHealth, but they still need to register so that their names and other details will be included in the PhilHealth database.
If the student is below 21 years old, Domingo said it is possible that the student is already registered as dependent of their parents so they don’t need to register.
That means if the student is more than 21 years old already, the student should register as a direct contributor.
She said PhilHealth registration and payment of contributions can be done by direct payment at PhilHealth offices or online.