Manila, March 28 -- The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has teamed up with the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to prioritize healthcare access for about 500,000 underprivileged students enrolled in state universities and colleges' (SUCs) and their families.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU), signed by CHED Chairperson Prospero De Vera III and PhilHealth President Edwin Mercado on Thursday, aims to integrate PhilHealth services with CHED's Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) and Tulong Dunong Program (TDP), both of which are implemented through the Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST).

The collaboration aims to benefit TES and TDP grantees, most of whom belong to low-income ho...