The president of the Dominican Association of Health Risk Administrators (ADARS), the local equivalent of HMOs, said on Wednesday, 8 March 2017 that they were evaluating the proposal made by the Dominican Medical Association (CMD) and the Dominican Association of Private Clinics (Adeclip) aimed at including more services in the network of health providers, as reported in 7 Dias.
Manuel Vargas, the ADARS president, said that on 21 March, they will be meeting with doctors to respond to their demands. He observed that there some issues highlighted by the ARSs represented by ADARS can only be addressed by the Superintendence of Labor Health and Risks (Sisalril). He said: “The reality is that the fees are set by the Social Security Council and we [ADARS] must comply with policies and regulations established by the Social Security Council.
This is the first time that the CMD takes a lead in representing interests of physicians that work in the private sector. The CMD has usually championed interests of public sector physicians. Private sector physicians and clinics are protesting that the ARSs are making it difficult for patients to choose their health providers and are limiting insurance coverage for standard procedures.
