Private clinics in economic hardship

Image: El Comercio

Novaclínica maintains its expansion project stagnated. After the purchase of the existing facilities adjacent to the hospital, in the Ignacio de Veintimilla street, in northern Quito, plans were stopped. This is due to the lack of liquidity of the entity due to amounts receivable it maintains with the Ecuadorian Institute of Social Security (IESS).

Luis Miguel Delgado, medical director of Novaclinica, prefers not to talk about numbers. But he qualifies the debt as “important” and says that this is creating operational problems as the untimely payment to suppliers.

This private health center does not discriminate patients referred by the IESS. The provided health care, its Medical Director explains, is the same and “they always seek quality.”

Novaclínica, like 41 other health centers in the country, belongs to the National Association of Private Clinics and Hospitals of Ecuador (Achpe). This organization manages the collection of debts of the Institute with its associates.

Ana Delgado Cedeño, executive director of the Achpe, told this newspaper that the debts of the IESS with private clinits are recorded since 2010. Although at the moment they gather information to establish a real amount of the debt, considering that the value could reach USD 120 million.

Source: http://www.elcomercio.com/tendencias/clinicasprivadas-deudas-iess-achpe-salud.html