The Ministry of Public Health is practically a geriatrics department. Of the 67,803 employees on the payroll, 43,263 are over 65 and another 2,453 are between 60 and 64 years of age. Most of them work in the National District of Province of Santo Domingo.
The Dominican Medical Association (CMD) president for the National District, Mery Hernandez told El Caribe that no one wants to retire because the pension benefits are minimal. She said that as a result, a large number of doctors and nurses are working well past retirement age. She pointed out that Social Security retirement plans are RD$4,000 to RD$6,000 a month, while doctors’ pensions are at RD$27,000 a month, but they lose their medical benefits.