Health worker union members forced their way into the Senate yesterday to protest the passing of a new social security bill. They violated the door of entry before forcing a commission of senators head by the president of the Senate, Ramón Alburquerque to receive them. Rafael Collado, president of the Dominican Medical Association, led the group as they forced their way over the congressional gates and into Congress. They said they were following the example of the president of the Senate, who did the same when not allowed into the Dominican Municipal League during an institutional crisis of that organization. Alburquerque explained that the bill has not been passed and is still under study. He said that all sectors are being heard, and that 31 public talk sessions have been held. The medical union wants universal medical coverage of Dominicans. The bill limits coverage to those who contribute to it. The AMD also wants the government to manage the money paid into the system, while the bill as stands in Congress establishes that the private sector will have control. Alburquerque told the union leaders, "You cannot say this is what I say, and if it is not done there will not be a law, because that would not be fair."
