SCPM prohibits the cancellation of medicine contracts 

Prepaid medical companies and health insurers can not terminate contracts with their users arguing affectation unilaterally by the entry into force of the Law of Prepaid Medicine. This was announced yesterday by Marcelo Ortega, president of the Commission for Resolution of First Instance of the Superintendency of Control of Market Power.

This, according to the preventive measures issued by the agency on October 24.

According to the resolution, the measures are aimed at companies that offer private health care insurance or prepaid medical assistance. Thus, it determined the suspension of the legal effects of unilateral terminations of corporate contracts and the temporary ban of 180 days to complete their contracts.

The measure was announced exactly when Salud S.A. announced the termination of 170,000 corporate contracts of prepaid medicine. That company reported a month it would no longer offer business plans for about 600 companies.

The Prepaid Medicine Act compels companies to assume the medical costs of customers who receive assistance from the Public Health system. Therefore, the sector has indicated that this will mean an increase in claims.

According to Ortega, these measures are given after the chairman of the Ecuadorian Institute of Social Security, Richard Espinosa, and its director, Geovanna Andrade, requested the Superintendency to investigate based on art. 62 of the Law on Control of Market Power.