The prepaid They applied a 30% increase in January fees, they announced another 40% for the month of February and is expected also go up for March. As a consequence of this news, which hits hard the affiliates pocketaccording to a calculation of the Argentine Health Union (UAS), which brings together the majority of private medicine companies, 5% of users would drop out of direct (non-corporate) plans.
Although the companies affirm that the fall will be inevitable. One of them, with a good percentage of members, held in dialogue with Ambit that the real impact will be seen just in march when families, along with the increase in health services, also have school fees added.
Faced with this reality, many seek contain this loss of members through low-cost plans with fewer services in booklet. However, the need to implement measures is not present in all companies. “We understand that announcing an increase and then coming out with promotions (as other companies did) with discounts for new members is not fair to those who are already there,” commented a company spokesperson.
Regarding prices, it is estimated that, for a basic plan of the cheapest ones start at $50,000 for individual plans and, from $150,000, for a family. In any case, those most affected by this news will be the members of the middle class.
A basic example is OSDE, where the 210 Individual Direct Plan (from 36 to 64 years old) will go from being worth $136,397 in January to around $174,588 in February.
The sector has 6.5 million beneficiaries of which the 70% are corporate users. The rest, which will be more than 1.5 million, are individuals. It is in that segment, where some companies will be aiming first to observe what the impact is like and, secondly, to analyze whether measures are taken.
The deregulation of prepaid medicine and the DNU
The companies of prepaid medicine They decided to carry out the increases after Javier Milei’s DNU on December 20 past. The first announcement made by the president was the modification to the regulatory framework for prepaid medicine and social works. He then announced the elimination of price restrictions on the prepaid industry.
- Modification to the regulatory framework of prepaid medicine and social works.
- Removal of restrictions of prices to the prepaid industry.
- Incorporation of companies prepaid medicine to the social works regime.
- Establishment of the electronic prescription to streamline service and minimize costs.
- Modifications to pharmaceutical companies regime to encourage competition and reduce costs.
Article 267 of Milei’s DNU repeals “articles 5, paragraphs g) and m), 6, 18, 19, 25 paragraph a) and 27” of Law 26,682, voted in 2011, which establishes the Regulatory Framework for Prepaid Medicine, applicable to all companies and voluntary membership plans. By repealing these sections, the State was deprived of the possibility of authorizing and reviewing quota values. Shortly thereafter, Swiss Medical decided to take the lead and announce the January increase.
They reject enabling the judicial fair to deal with prepaid increases
The National Court of Appeals in Federal Civil and Commercial Matters confirmed this Wednesday the rejection to a request for authorization of the judicial fair to deal with an amparo filed against the Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU) with regard to the modifications introduced in the regulatory framework of the prepaid.
The judges of the fair room decided to “dismiss the appeal filed by the plaintiff and confirm the rejection of the request for authorization of the judicial fair formulated”, as appears from the resolution issued this afternoon. The resolution bears the signature of the judges of the Room A fair of the National Chamber of Federal Civil and Commercial Appeals Fernando Uriarte, Florencia Nallar and Alfredo Guzmán.
“In the present proceedings the appellant does not prove any compelling circumstance that poses a current or imminent risk to his medical coveragewhile his grievances only refer to hypothetical and conjectural situations lacking documentary support,” the judges maintained in the ruling and added: “Note that beyond his own statements, the appellant does not invoke a current circumstance of non-compliance in the payment of health fees that, in the hypothetical case that it became effective, it could represent a -also- conjectural situation of imminent lack of protection in the right to health.”
The decision was adopted within the framework of the file initiated by an amparo action presented by lawyer Eduardo Santiago Wilsonassociate of Swiss Medical S.A.., which fell to the Federal Civil and Commercial Court, led by Judge Juan Stinco.
Source: Ambito
