Treasury Stays Doubtful of Insurance Tender Despite Criticism

In a statement released yesterday in a reserved space, the Chamber of Medical Assistance Institutions of Paraguay (Cimap) strongly questioned the tenders for the contracting of medical insurance that the Government is carrying out in various entities.

The union was concerned about the recent award made by the Ministry of Finance to the Consorcio Salud SD and Grupo Proinsa SA, for a value of G. 62,572 million. This process was later annulled by Public Contracting, after the protest of another contestant.

Cimap points out that it is necessary to look closely at the reduction of minimum requirements to be met and the unjustified relaxation of qualification criteria for bidders, which can lead to awards to companies or consortia that do not meet the experience conditions, to the detriment of a good health service.

The union also mentions a call made by the Ministry of Public Works and Communication (MOPC). In this process, he questions that the payment of an advance has been established in a surprising and unprecedented way, without consigning the purpose or destination of the same, as well as without establishing control methods for the use of that public money.

This fact, he continues, generates uncertainty and concern in insurers, since this can lead to awards to companies to the detriment of others with optimal financial conditions and experience.

“From Cimap we consider that the health of the beneficiaries of public bidding contracts must be protected and ensured over time, therefore, the level of demand regarding financial capacity, the level of benefits and experience in management of the resources on the part of the bidders must be rigorous verification requirements prior to the awarding of a contract, ”says the statement.

Re-evaluation. The award of health insurance made by the Treasury to Consorcio Salud SD and Grupo Proinsa SA was annulled a few days ago by Public Contracting. The latter entity gave the Treasury a period of 20 days to re-analyze the offers.

According to sources from the portfolio, these days they will send the results of this reassessment to the purchasing regulator, although everything indicates that both companies initially awarded would be confirmed.

In this process, irregularities were detected in the handling of the specifications and conditions, with changes that lowered the level of experience and solvency to demonstrate the ability to provide the service. The burden of the questioning falls on the SD Health Consortium, which has several sanctions for providing false information in previous tenders.

official silence

Since the scandal broke out over this award, the authorities of the Ministry of Finance have called for silence, despite the insistence of the press.

According to the Budget Law and the regulatory decree, the ministry can contract medical insurance for up to G. 1,000,000 per month, per employee.

Currently, the economic institution has 2,154 officials on its payroll.