The president of the Social Security Institute (IPS), Isaías Fretes, announced this Monday (18) the beginning of the cleanup of the social security vademecum, with the elimination of 817 surgical supply items from a list of 4,800. According to Fretes, these are obsolete materials whose purchases generate unnecessary expenses for the health fund, which faces a monthly deficit exceeding US$ 20 million. The list of exclusions is expected to grow, as 513 medication items still remain to be analyzed.
The National Association of IPS Insured received the measure with caution. The entity's president, Julio López, stated that, in principle, the elimination of outdated supplies for replacement with modern technologies is a correct direction, but distrust persists due to the institute's history. “We are concerned and will be talking with associations of patients with catastrophic diseases to ensure that no essential supply is removed,” López said.
López demanded legal consequences for previous administrations. He recalled that past transitions—such as the departures of former presidents Armando Rodríguez and Vicente Bataglia—were marked by allegations of multimillion-dollar irregularities detected by the Comptroller General of the Republic (CGR) that did not result in firm sanctions. “We have the right to doubt that this is once again a kind of noise without consequences,” he criticized.
The association also reaffirmed the request for a declaration of a state of health emergency at the IPS, a measure that would allow the Executive Branch to expedite the direct purchase of critical medications and supplies, bypassing bidding bureaucracy. A delegation of insured individuals is expected to appear this Tuesday (19) at the IPS Central Office to request a meeting with Fretes and formalize their rejection of the profile of the new members of the Board of Directors, especially councilor Mirtha Arias, from the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT), accused of “complicit silence” in the face of irregularities.