Citizens pay access to health through various means

Access to health of Ecuadorians contains a “paradox or incongruity”: there is a group of citizens who hardly access the free services and other, that however, pays several times for health, says Edison Aguilar Santacruz, a member of the Platform for Health and Life.

The issue of access to health has surfaced amid the immediate adoption of the Law of Prepaid Medicine, which will be discussed today, from 18:30 in the plenary of the Assembly.

Legislators will discuss the presidential veto that has proposed that prepaid medicine companies reimburse the cost of health care received by its affiliates in the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute (IESS) or public hospitals, in the case of citizens who have private insurances (for the amount contracted with the supplier).

For Aguilar, there is a middle-class sector that ends up paying several times for health services: both in their taxes and their contribution to the IESS (about 6% of their salary), in the payment of private insurances and when he requests a loan (Solca tax).

According to the Ecuadorian Business Committee (EEC), there are 900,000 people affiliated with prepaid medicine companies; but of those, 420,000 pay a second contribution to both the IESS and private enterprises. This sector could be affected by the rising cost of policies and even with the loss of service if they can not pay.