Chancellor Fernando C. Sanchez, Jr., formally endorsed  on June 30, 2020 to the UP Board of Regents the proposed amendment on the guidelines for the Enhanced Hospitalization Programme (eHOPE) drafted by the UPLB eHOPE Committee.

The eHOPE is hospitalization benefits coverage for faculty members, research, extension, and professional staff (REPS), and administrative staff of UP.

The proposed amendment states that the employees of the university who suffered from severe and catastrophic illnesses, but were advised not to be admitted to the hospital for confinement due to their vulnerability of getting infected with COVID-19, will be allowed to reimburse their incurred hospital and medicine expenses from eHOPE.

The proposal also stipulates that reimbursement will be allowed upon submission of a doctor’s certification. This certification should specify that while confinement is badly needed, the patient was rather treated outside the hospital premises due to the patient’s state of vulnerability of getting infected with the virus.

The doctor’s certification should strongly justify the reason why the patient’s confinement may cause further complication to existing medical conditions given the risk of exposure to COVID-19.

UP’s eHOPE provides financial assistance for hospitalization expenses of the confined employee up to an accumulated maximum amount of PhP 80,000.00 per year.

It also provides financial assistance for medicines related to the covered confinement and prescribed upon discharge of the employee in the maximum aggregate amount of PhP 10,000.00 per year. (KEAraguas)