The Philippine government highly suggests students returning to face-to-face classes to register with PhilHealth or get insured with any other medical insurance to cover any COVID-19 expenses.
This is one of the preventive measures encouraged by officials so that students will be covered if they were to contact COVID-19 as they return to their schools.
Many students plan to return to their original in-person classes as colleges and universities open for full capacity face-to-face classes under alert level 1.
Students can avail PhilHealth insurance as a direct contributor or an indirect contributor. Being a direct contributor means that the person can pay the premium rate for 300php per month, while the indirect contributors are those in specific sectors whose premiums are covered by the national government.
Here are the categories in which you fall into as a Direct Contributor or Indirect Contributor as listed in PhilHealth’s official website:
Direct Contributor
– Employees with formal employment
– Kasambahays
– Self-earning individuals; Professional practitioners
– Overseas Filipino Workers
– Filipinos living abroad and those with dual citizenship
– Lifetime members
– All Filipinos aged 21 years and above with capacity to pay
Indirect Contributor
– Indigents identified by the DSWD
– Beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program
– Senior citizens
– Persons with disability
– Sangguniang Kabataan officials
– Previously identified at point-of-service / sponsored by LGUs
– Filipinos aged 21 years old and above without capacity to pay premiums
Students who don’t have any means of income or capacity to pay the monthly premium of Php 300/month can enroll as an Indigent Member. To be able to qualify for this, the student must secure a certificate claiming of its indigency from their residing city or municipal social welfare office of their local government unit.
PhilHealth also created an easier process for schools that encourage their students to register for medical insurance. The University of the Philippines that has set up an alternative for the students to have a stress-free process for their own PhilHealth registrations.
The Inter-Agency Task Force Resolution 164 also mentioned than in case the higher education institution was non-restrictive to the students that doesn’t have their own medical insurance, it would be the HEI’s responsibility to cover and “facilitate the necessary medial treatment/procedures” for the students.
