The Diario Libre reports that the Dominican Institute for Social Security (IDSS) has an accumulated debt in its pension accounts that has reached an astounding RD$22.93 billion. The deficit in the retirement plan for employees was valued at RD$22.93 billion, or nearly 7% of the gross domestic product, according to the actuarial accounting ordered by Article 42 of the Social Security Law. The same article states that the sum must be absorbed by the government, as it fulfills its role in the transformation of the IDSS to a HMO under the new plan.
In a related article in the List?n Diario, the Dominican Medical Association, soon to be the Dominican Medical College, warned that it will not permit the social security system to disappear under the new plans for health care for employees. Severo Mercedes, the current president of the AMD, told reporters that the so-called disappearance of the IDSS services reported in the press is merely a misinterpretation of Article 165 of the new Social Security Law. In other articles in this week?s press, leading industry and commercial representatives have voiced the need to clear up this confusion surrounding the new status of health providers and the current IDSS system. Saying that the new modus operandi constitutes a double charge for the same services, most companies are opposed.