The president of the Social Insurance Institute (IPS), Isaías Fretes, announced on Monday (18) the exclusion of 817 products from the vademecum, the institution's official list of medical supplies and medications. The measure is part of a fiscal adjustment and anti-corruption plan.
In a press conference, Fretes stated that the list of 4,000 items will be reduced, starting with supplies considered obsolete. “The situation is not easy. There are also corruption hotspots that have been dragging on for a long time. The goal is to reach the end of the path that will culminate in the change of the Constitution, but in the meantime we have to close the escape valves,” he declared.
The president of the IPS estimates that the removal of these 817 items — which may be expanded with medications as early as Wednesday (20) — will generate savings of US$ 20 to 25 million per month. The decision was made after a vademecum review workshop, the results of which were presented today.