Once again, the financial crisis of the Mendoza Public Employees’ Health Insurance (OSEP) reached such a level that it became a public matter. On December 10, the Chamber of Pharmacies of Mendoza and the Pharmaceutical College of Mendoza sent a formal letter to the Director of OSEP, Carlos Funes, demanding payment within three business days for the outstanding debt for medications consumed by beneficiaries during the second half of August, all of September, and the first half of October. If payment was not made, they would stop receiving prescriptions from OSEP starting December 15.
This situation not only jeopardized the health of the beneficiaries but also that of all Mendoza residents. OSEP covers 400,000 beneficiaries, meaning that one in every five people in the province is enrolled in this health insurance. Therefore, OSEP’s financial problems directly translate into risks for the entire healthcare system. Failure to pay its suppliers could disrupt the payment chain and lead to multiple healthcare provider bankruptcies. Furthermore, the interruption of certain services could result in overcrowding in the rest of the medical care system.
In the face of this potential collapse, the Single Union of Education Workers (SUTE) submitted a letter to the Director of OSEP, notifying him that the union would file a criminal complaint if the outstanding payments were not made. Fortunately, the government reached an agreement with the suppliers, and the strike was not carried out.
However, the financial imbalances of the health insurance system are far from being resolved. Therefore, in this report, we aim to briefly analyze the OSEP accounts, using the limited information available thanks to the Fiscal Responsibility Law.