After falling three months behind, the Ministry of Public Health began to make payments on the more than RD$125-million debt it maintains with its 150 public hospitals. Reportedly, the budget office disbursed RD$41.7 million so that hospitals could pay their own debts past due. The delay in the payment of the subsidies has reduced services, such as surgery, at the hospitals. Likewise, patients requiring certain services have had to pay for the expendable materials to be used in their care.
The director of the National Budget Office said the government expects to pay the remainder owed by 15 July.
El Caribe reports that the Dominican Institute of Social Security (IDSS) has a debt of RD$4.2 billion with its health centers. The physicians of the IDSS have threatened a work stoppage if the government does not cover the debt with the 19 IDSS centers next week.