The Ministry of Public Health under cardiologist Victor Atallah since January 2024 has been pushing for prevention to avoid high costs of reactive health care.
The evidence is clear in the case of heart diseases. Cardiovascular diseases continue to be the principal cause of death in the Dominican Republic. Critics argue that the country’s healthcare model is fundamentally flawed, offering significantly less coverage for the early detection of cardiovascular disease than it does for the resulting, and far more costly complications.
A recent feature in Listin Diario by journalist Deyanira Polanco highlights how the system is rigged against prevention, with the health providers authorizing expensive post heart attack procedures but scrimping on preventive measures.
Listin Diario reports that Health Risk Administrators (ARS) in the Dominican Republic are facing scrutiny for a system that appears to the prioritize expensive, late-stage cardiac care over affordable, life-saving prevention. While ARSs cover the devastating costs of a heart attack, they routinely deny coverage for crucial preventive studies, leading to a financial and human toll that experts say is both massive and avoidable.
Journalist Polanco writes that while the Dominican health system saves approximately RD$50,000 per patient by denying preventive studies, this short-sighted saving later translate into a staggering liability when cardiovascular disease (CVD) inevitably manifests in its most severe form. When a cardiac event occurs, ARSs are forced to pay out between one and three million pesos per patient for complex procedures. The health insurance companies collectively disbursed RD$4.21 billion to 89 health centers to cover cardiovascular procedures, underscoring the enormous financial burden of advanced disease.
Listin Diario reports that cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death in the country. The statistics highlight a daily tragedy that the current healthcare approach seems unable to curb. What is known is that on average, 53 Dominicans die every day from cardiovascular diseases. CVD caused 28,633 deaths between January 2024 and June 2025, according to the Central Electoral Board (JCE) death registry.
The lack of prevention causes a major strain in the public health system, and especially on the country’s critical care resources. Listin Diario reports that the National Health Service (SNS) only has 783 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds across 53 health centers for these complex patients, serving a population of more than 11 million people.
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Listin Diario
16 December 2025