The Dominican Medical Guild (CMD) together with the Board of the Specialized Medical Societies (Conasomep) and the National Association of Private Clinics (Andeclip) have announced the suspension of consultations and elective procedures for those patients holding ARS Humano medical insurance. There has been no announcement as to the length of time this suspension will last. The boycott is to start on Wednesday, 1 May 2019 when only emergencies and those patients in intensive care will be able to claim under their insurance with Humano.
The announcement comes as the organizations say they will step up actions in favor of increases in the fees and tariffs for their services. The intention is to extend the boycott to the other around 20 medical insurance providers authorized in the Dominican Republic. CMD president Wilson Roa said that the physicians cannot take it anymore and that according to the CMD regulations they had no choice but to take corrective and disciplinary measures. Roa says that the ARS Humano has not complied with agreements that had been signed in 2017, as reported by Diario Libre.
ARS Humano is the country’s leading private medical insurance plan with around 33% of the medical insurance plan market, serving around 2.5 million people.
The other leading medical plans are Palic Salud, Universal and the governmental Senasa that covers those on the subsidized regime.
The Colegio Médico Dominicano, Consejo de Sociedades Médicas Especilizadas and the Asociación de Clínicas y Hospitales Privados say medical services fees have stagnated despite Social Security Law 87-01 ordering revisions every three years. Adjustments have mostly affected the difference patients pay that can range from RD$250 to RD$1,100 depending on the clinic and the plan. In most cases, the difference is more than they are paid by the medical plan companies.
The medical organizations also demand that patients maintain free choice in medical services, and that primary care begin with the subsidized regime. The insurance scheme has proven to be highly profitable for the medical plan operators. ARS Humano recently inaugurated a large office building on Av.. John F. Kennedy.
Source: DR1, DiarioLibre
May 5, 2019
The Dominican government has rejected a recent ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (known by its Spanish acronym, CIDH) against it, arguing that the Dominican Republic is a sovereign nation responsible for its own immigration policies. CIDH issued a resolution on 13 March 2019 annulling Dominican Constitutional Court ruling TC256-14, which rejected the authority of the CIDH in its 2005 and 2014 rulings against the DR for violating the rights of Dominicans of Haitian descent to national citizenship and ordering reparation measures.
The latest CIDH ruling, published on 23 April 2019, says the Dominican Republic still must comply with its prior rulings in line with its obligations under the American Convention on Human Rights, which the DR is a party to.
Flavio Darío Espinal, the legal advisor to President Danilo Medina and a former Dominican ambassador to the United States and to the Organization of American States (OAS), asserted that ruling TC256-14 is definitive, citing Article 184 of the Constitution that states that the Constitutional Court’s decisions are final and irrevocable and constitute binding precedents for the branches of government and all state agencies.
Speaking in a press briefing at the Presidential Palace, Espinal stated:
“Contrary to what is stated by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the Dominican legal system does not generate statelessness. The Dominican state has provided itself with a normative base, both at the constitutional and legal level that responds to the different situations that may arise in the country regarding nationality. This has been recognized by other international organizations and agencies, as well as by different national and international players that follow up this issue.
“The Dominican government reiterates that regulation of how nationality is defined is a sovereign and inalienable attribute of the Dominican state, which objectively and impartially applies its constitutional and legal provisions on this matter.”
Source: DR1, Elcaribe
May 5, 2019
From Saturday 27 April, drivers who are in vehicles with bald tires will be fined by agents from the Ground Transit and Transport Agency (Digesett) and can be fined between one and 10 minimum salaries and their vehicles could be confiscated.
The measure is in compliance with resolution 002-209 of the National Institute of Ground Transit and Transport (Intrant) issued on 25 February 2019 that gave drivers 60 days to ensure their tires are in good condition. The timeframe has now ended.
Tires now need to be inflated to the correct pressure. A minimum of 1.6 millimeters of tread for light vehicles and 2.5 millimeters for heavy vehicles has been set. Other requirements are that there should not be any deformities of the tires, no protuberances and the tires should not be more than four years old.
Intrant spokesman, Viviano de León, said that the Digesett agents had been trained and have the correct equipment for checking the tires.
Source: DR1, DiarioLibre
May 5, 2019
