Student Health Care

2020/01/31

The Keio Student Health Care Mutual Aid Association (Gakuseikenpo) is a mutual aid association established in 1959 with the purpose of "maintaining and promoting the health of students and providing mutual aid for their illnesses and injuries." Its activities, based on the spirit of mutual aid, are broadly divided into two categories: the "medical care benefits program" and the "preventive care benefits program." The association is funded by membership fees paid by its members (i.e., students). All activities are carried out with the approval of the Board of Directors, which is responsible for decision-making. A distinctive feature of the association is that not only university faculty and staff but also student committee members serve as directors, allowing the voices of the members to be directly reflected in its operations.

The "medical care benefits program" subsidizes a portion of the medical expenses paid by members when they receive treatment at insured medical institutions and other facilities. When the association was first established, its main focus was on providing financial assistance to tuberculosis patients. However, as the types of diseases have diversified over time and the environment has evolved to allow for more advanced treatments, the total amount of subsidized medical expenses has remained high in recent years, becoming a factor that strains the association's finances. In order to ensure the long-term and stable continuation of the program, system revisions have been made, such as excluding dental treatment from coverage.

On the other hand, the "preventive care benefits program" consists of activities aimed at health promotion and disease prevention. Among these programs, the contracted inns system (a system that allows members to use lodging facilities at a low cost) has a long history, and at one time, the association even had contracts with guesthouses in Okinawa Prefecture. Furthermore, the "Umi no Ie" (beach house) on the Onjuku coast and the "Ski House" in Myoko Kogen, which were operated with the generous support of the inns, were projects used by many members each year and were popular for a long time. Currently, the association has contracts with 14 inns in the Kanto-Koshinetsu region, and they continue to be popular with many users.

Another notable facility is the "Gakuseikenpo Training Room" in Hiyoshi, which opened in 1989 as a fitness center. The fee is 200 yen per session (a price that has remained unchanged since its opening), and users can receive training guidance from resident trainers. The association also holds special events to motivate members to start working out.

The daily activities of Gakuseikenpo are carried out by the "Student Health Insurance Committee," a student organization. The "100-yen breakfast," which has recently been implemented at many universities, is said to have originated in October 2006 when this committee piloted it as a free breakfast project. It is still held regularly at the Hiyoshi Campus, and a "Kitchen Car Collaboration Project" has also been launched at SFC to help with lunch costs. Additionally, at the Mita Festival, events such as physical fitness tests and "skin age measurements" are held every year. Through these and various other activities, the committee supports the health and well-being of its members.

(Nobuto Kaku, Manager, Office of Student Services)