Although the April fee increase will be 2.36%, identical for all prepaid affiliates, between March 1st and 20th users will have to enter the Superintendence of Health page to declare if they have incomes lower or higher than 6 SMVM (vital and mobile minimum wage).
This was reported by the Superintendence of Health Services: “Users must upload their Certification of Sworn Income Statement which is done online on the Superintendence of Health Services website, which is available from the 1st to the 20th of each month.
The 6 SMVMs referenced for this month total $406,458 ($67,743 x 6).
As reported by Clarín, in April the increase will be 2.36%, for all equally because the Health Cost Index is less than 90% of the change in formal wages (RIPTE), the indicator used to fix the increase in the share of those who earn less, according to the Superintendence of Health Services.
The decree 743/2022 which sets the differentiated increases (which debuted in February and will be applied for the second time in March) establishes that 90% of the RIPTE acts as a cap for those who receive less than 6 Minimum Living and Mobile Wages in relation to the Health Cost Index. The same Cost Index increase is applied to those earning more than 6 SMVM.
Therefore, this limit was applied in February and now in March because the healthcare cost index was 8.21% and 7.66% respectively and for those who earn less the increase was 4.91% and 5.04%.
In April this cap does not apply because the Health Cost Index is 2.36% and the 90% RIPTE is 4.87% (the RIPTE was 5.41%).
To make these calculations, the immediately preceding published month is taken. For example, for the April increase (which is done at the end of February), we take the December RIPTE, which is the last one published.
Prepaid Affiliates have started getting notified of the raise because they have to 30 days in advance.
The Health Cost Index combines the evolution of the costs of medicines (who have a total stake of 12.2%) according to a list prepared by the Ministry of Health, the medical supplies (17.2%), the wages fixed by parity (52.4%) e overheads (18.2%), produced by SSSalud.
This dividing line in setting tariff increases – which went from bimonthly to monthly – was established at the beginning of November by decree 743/2022, after the cristina kirchner reviews to the 13.8% increase deriving from the Cost Index for the month of December.
Then, on the one hand, that 13.8% was doubled, to 6.9% in December and another 6.9% in January, and the new criteria for increasing quotas were set. “for a period of 18 months”.
Healthcare institutions and prepaid social works, for their part, must increase the values of the medical assistance services provided to the beneficiaries of prepaid and social works by clinics, sanatoriums and professionals by at least 90% of the percentage increase in their income according to the fees received.
Meanwhile, according to INDEC records, due to increased informality and rising costs of health plans the population with coverage has decreased of social assistance or private medicine.
With the increase in March and April, an average family plan by a married couple with 2 minor children It could be around $85,000 to $110,000 a month.
It is estimated that the sector (the sum of prepaid plus Obras Sociales del Personnel Management) has 6 million beneficiaries (owner and family nucleus) of which 20% are volunteers or “pure direct workers”) and the rest corresponds to workers who make their contributions to a social work which has an agreement with the prepaid.
Source: Clarin
