The bonus will be charged to prepaid members who have not updated their tariffs with the sector.
The biochemists of the Province of Buenos Aires they will start charging un “additional compensatory bonus”, to the members of the prepaid that they have not updated their tariffs with the sector, in order not to stop caring for patients and to be able to meet the expenses that the benefits entail. It will affect almost a million beneficiaries.
Dr. Claudio Cova, president of the Biochemical Federation of the Province of Buenos Aires (FABA), explained that: “during 2023, a increase in wages of the employees of the laboratories grouped under the Health Personnel Union, according to the April-December parity of 137%; inputs and reagents suffered an average increase of 360%, rents 200% and the interannual CPI reached 211.4%.”
“In this same period of time,” the leader continued, “the prepaid medicine companies granted, to the biochemical providers of the Province of Buenos Aires, an increase in tariffs of 131%; clearly insufficient amount to meet the service we provide to its beneficiaries. It should be noted that, during that same period, the Superintendency of Health Services (SSS) obliged prepaid companies to transfer, at least, the 90% of the increases that they applied to the dues of their members, which turned out to be a ceiling on the increases granted.”
prepaid-editedjpg.jpg
Given the recent DNU 70/2023, which deregulates the activity of prepaid medicine companies, without conditioning what they must transfer to providers, these companies were asked for a tariff update that covers the cost of operating the laboratories in order to provide the agreed service without problems. “Given the insufficient response, the collection of a additional compensatory bonus, non-refundable, payable by the beneficiaries of $5000, which will come into effect in the coming days, affecting about 1 million Buenos Aires residents”Cova assured.
The Prepaid companies involved are: Avalian, AMFFA, Escribanos, OSMECON EE/Ld Z, Luis Pasteur, Swiss Medical, Preventive Health, GALENO, Federada June 25, OSDEPYM, Uno Salud.
Prepaid: fees increase
The prepaid increased by 40% andhe value of the quotas in the month of January and a new update is expected in February of the order of 30%. During the last few months, some prepaid companies were billing with the updated fee, but specifying the difference as a “bonus.” Now, billing will show the new values without said bonus.
The January increase of 6.26% corresponds to the Health Cost Index that is applied with a two-month lag. In this way, the increase in January corresponds to the Index as of November 30. At the end of the month, the percentage that will be applied in February should be announced.
From the sector, it is assumed that, after the devaluation of the peso, health costs will suffer a significant jump and, if the current update scheme is maintained, they will return to double digits.
Source: Ambito
