The Interagency Task Force (IATF) discards the medical insurance requirement for college students participating in limited face-to-face classes, Malacañang said on Friday, May 27.
“Inaprubahan na din ng IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force), base po sa rekomendasyon ng Commission on Higher Education (CHED), ang pag-repeal sa medical insurance ng mga estudyante na nakasaad sa CHED-DOH (Department of Health) joint memorandum circular No. 2021-004,” said acting deputy presidential spokesperson Kris Ablan.
Colleges and universities under COVID-19 Alert Level 1 were authorized to hold face-to-face sessions at full capacity earlier this year as long as students attending physical classes are covered under PhilHealth or another insurance carrier.
However, on March 21, the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) encouraged the government to subsidize student, teacher, and other education stakeholders' health insurance.
NUSP President Jandeil Roperos believed that by requiring students to register for medical insurance, the government passed its responsibilities to them.
The union said that it supports the need for required insurance for students so long as the government will shoulder the expenses.
As of now, there was no explanation on why CHED had suggested it in the first place.
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