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Uruguay government pressures professional fund to scrap medical report fee
🇺🇾 Uruguay /Health & Science

Uruguay government pressures professional fund to scrap medical report fee

From El País · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Uruguay's government is pressuring the Caja de Profesionales to reverse a resolution imposing a new fee on medical reports.
  • The proposed fee of $170 per report was intended to help finance the institution, which already receives state funding.
  • The National Health Board and the government argue the fee would create a new cost for healthcare, increase barriers to access, and contradict public health policies.

The Uruguayan government is actively pressuring the Caja de Jubilaciones y Pensiones de Profesionales Universitarios (Cjppu) to retract a recent decision to implement a new fee on medical reports. This move comes after the Cjppu's board, established in February, voted on May 28 to charge a $170 fee for "reports issued by professionals linked to medical consultations and other social benefits."

in fact, it implies the incorporation of a new cost associated with healthcare, with a direct impact on users and on the National Integrated Health System (SNIS).

— Junta Nacional de Salud (Junasa)National Health Board's assessment of the proposed medical report fee.

The National Health Board (Junasa) has formally opposed the measure, stating in a letter dated June 17 that the resolution effectively introduces a "new cost associated with healthcare, with a direct impact on users and the National Integrated Health System (SNIS)." Junasa argues that this fee would increase barriers to accessing medical care, particularly affecting individuals with chronic conditions, the elderly, and lower-income sectors who require more frequent medical attention. The board emphasized that this measure runs counter to the Ministry of Public Health's policies aimed at reducing access barriers and facilitating healthcare utilization.

The measure implies an increase in the costs of access to medical care, configuring an indirect increase in co-payments and, therefore, of economic barriers to access health services.

— Junta Nacional de Salud (Junasa)National Health Board's explanation of the impact of the proposed fee on healthcare access.

Leonardo Di Doménico, the national director of Social Security, publicly stated that the Executive Branch will not permit the measure to proceed. He communicated this position to the Cjppu's president, Andrés Pérez, on Tuesday. Di Doménico described the resolution as "irregular from a formal point of view and inconvenient due to its content and social projection," despite respecting the Cjppu's political autonomy. The Cjppu board convened on Thursday afternoon to address the government's objections and the Junasa's concerns regarding the proposed fee.

irregular from the point of view of form and inconvenient for its content and social projection

— Leonardo Di DoménicoNational Director of Social Security describing the government's view of the Cjppu's resolution.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El País in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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