Prepaid: Fees rise 11.34% from August and rise again in October and December

Private medicine fees rise 11.34% in August on the basis of a Cost Index that will be applied every two months.

Affiliated to the prepaid has already started receiving the notification where it is specified that “pursuant to Resolution 1293/2022 of the Ministry of Health of the Nation and the publication made on the page of the Superintendence of Health Services, general, complementary and cumulative increases were ordered with respect to those previously authorized for all those companies registered with ‘National Register of Prepaid Medicine Bodies ”.

The novelty is that this increase is based on a Health Expense Index that combines the evolution of the costs of drugs, medical supplies, salaries set by equality workers and overheads prepared by the Superintendency of Health Services. And it will be applied every two months.

The Ministry of Health ordered it “To have a reference for the authorization of increases starting from August 2022it was considered appropriate to construct an index which adequately reflects the changes in the cost structure and which determines the maximum increase limits that can be applied periodically by the entities in the sector “.

This Index must be calculated on a bimonthly basisthe last day of the months of January, March, May, July, September and November ”, according to the Resolution 1293/2022 of the Ministry of Health, published on 30 June.

However, the Resolution established for what this second semester, “the Healthcare Cost Index will be calculated on the last day of the months of June, August and October 2022” and must be communicated to affiliates 30 days in advance. It follows that the next increases are expected August (in this case with 11.34%), October and December.

11.34% represents the seventh increase in fees so far this year. It started with 9% in January, 6% in March, another 6% in April, 8% in May, 10% in June and 4% in July. With 11.34% in August, it represents an increase of 68.5% in 8 months. And there are still two increases.

Due to this rate hike, and despite no industry data, many affiliates have had to switch to cheaper plans and many have also had to cancel due to inability to pay for these increases.

Now, with these increases, there will be a new leap in the values ​​of industry affiliate health plans. According to the prepaid, with this increase an average family plan of a married couple with 2 minor children could haunt between $ 40,000 and $ 60,000 per month.

For their part, prepaid persons must pay clinics, sanatoriums, communication hospitals, laboratories at least 90% of the increase in the quotas to their members, which represents an increase of 10.2%.

YN