IATF repeals medical insurance requirement for college students

EARLIER SETUP Classrooms looked like this in November 2021 for nursing students at Universidad de Manila, which was among the first to try limited in-person classes at the college level. On Friday, the government finally allowed higher education institutions to accept students at 100-percent capacity. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

MANILA, Philippines — The government’s COVID-19 task force has repealed the medical insurance requirement for college students, Malacañang said Friday.

In a Palace briefing, Acting Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Kris Ablan said the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases approved the recommendation of the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) to repeal the requirement.

The said requirement was contained under a joint memorandum circular between CHEd and the Department of Health.

Earlier, the government allowed colleges and universities under Alert Level 1 to hold in-person classes at full classroom capacity, provided that only fully-vaccinated students with health insurance could participate.

Students aged 21 and above may enroll in PhilHealth as indigent members, on grounds that the student has no capacity to pay for the premiums.  Meanwhile, students below 21 may be classified as dependents of their parents or legal guardians.

However, this requirement earned flak for being “cumbersome and unnecessary.”

/MUF