The Minister of the General Secretariat of Government, Camila Vallejo, responded to Sebastián Piñera’s former Minister of Health, Jaime Mañalich, who criticized the Zero Copay program of the current administration for patients of the National Health Fund (Fonasa). In interview with Radio Dunethe former head of the Minsal said that President Gabriel Boric’s announcement “does not comply with the principle of legality in which the Government has to act.”
In Mañalich’s opinion, “the government can only act by decree in dictatorships. This implies that a change of this nature has to be processed through the Budget Law – whose discussion does not begin for another two months -, make a legal change by law with Congress to the current Budget Law, or give powers to the director of Fonasa to forgive this debt in which the beneficiaries segments C and D of Fonasa would incur, which is estimated at more or less 20 billion pesos, because all this is mandated by law today”.
The former Secretary of State affirmed that the Executive’s announcement has “fundamentally a communicational campaign objective, an Approval campaign”, with a view to the exit plebiscite next Sunday, September 4. La Moneda’s response to Jaime Mañalich was not long in coming and the doctor was summoned by spokeswoman Camila Vallejo.
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In response to Dr. Mañalich’s statements, Minister Vallejo responded via Twitter: “The former minister may not like the free status for Fonasa users in the Public Health Network. What does not correspond is that he says that it is illegal. The DFL N 1 of the Minsal regulates maximum copayments, never minimums. This measure is not only ethical but completely legal.”
Mañalich did not hold anything back and replied to Vallejo on the same social network: “However, by joint resolution of Law No. 19,650 of the Ministries of Health Art. 2, No. 4 and Finance, they may be established, letter a) ( only) for medicines, prostheses and dental care, percentages different from those indicated in the preceding paragraph”.
The government spokeswoman corrected the former minister: “Text that he cites is consolidated in DFL No. 1 (art 161, subsection 3). The differentiated coverage that he indicates (med, prosthesis and dental) also allows them to establish higher percentages of coverage, equal than for the rest of the benefits. People can continue to be happy because of Zero Copay”.
Jaime Mañalich lashed out saying that what the Secretary of State mentioned is “only for medications, prostheses and dental care. What is going to be the legal instrument to contradict this Law and the Budget Law? What is the financial report?” . And he concluded: “I like the Zero Copay, as long as the avalanche of demand does not delay even more the attention of beneficiaries A and B who are waiting.”
