The measures taken this Wednesday by the national government against prepaid medicine companies due to the excessive increase in fees have important protagonists, on one side and the other, who accuse each other of having broken an agreement that was almost closed.
The national administration of
Javier Gerardo Milei
chose, once again, an enemy for public debate. But this time, it was not one of the most loved and followed journalists in the country such as Jorge Lanata, or an opposition leader such as Larreta or Lousteau: the accusation is made against Claudio Fernando Belocopitt, the true boss of Argentine prepaid medicine, owner of the powerful Swiss Medical, partner of Vila and Manzano in the América group and close to Sergio Massa, Milei's presidential competitor in 2023.
An "ideal enemy" carefully chosen by the Casa Rosada but with very favorable elements to have broad sectors on its side; especially the middle class
, today severely punished by the rate increases, by schools and desperate by the excessive increase in prepaid fees.
The main prepaid medicine companies - grouped in the UAS, the Argentine Health Union - increased their fees by an average of 174% in 2024, compared to an inflation that was half that. The reason? the delay that they had and that, according to the Government, they had ironed out through an agreement that served as political support for the then Minister of Economy, who was also the presidential candidate for Unión por la Patria.
That is why now, they intended to suddenly recover what was lost, thus harming the pockets of the middle class, users of this system.
The official action began in a game of tweezers between the Chief of Staff and the Ministries of Economy and Health. Thus,
the coordinating minister Nicolás Posse together with Luis "Toto" Caputo and Mario Russo defined the steps to follow. With other key names: that of the super advisor, the omnipresent Santiago Caputo
along with Rodrigo Lugones, advisor from a distance, who is also the son of Mario Lugones, member of the Chief of Staff and whom some consider the strong man in Health of the government of Milei.
This team instructed the Ministry of Commerce and the Superintendency of Health Insurance
to reveal the true crux of the matter: the "financial business" of Claudio Belocopitt, supported by the management of the UAS
,
which they call "a seal" for manage the entire prepaid business.
This arrangement would be in the collection of fees from members (which is always monthly in advance) and the subsequent payment to health providers in 90-120 days. As today, there would be 6 million members who would have the prepaid ones, the calculation gives a true million-dollar business.
"We are going to dismantle the UAS loop"
; was a phrase heard in the team that designed and carried out this play that Clarín anticipated this week. "Belocopitt has Los Arcos Swiss Medical, Agote, IADT... he manages the beds in his opinion, he is the owner of the ball"; was heard among those who prepared the two presentations this Wednesday: a complaint of "cartelization" carried out by the Competition Commission against the companies; and a request for protection action so that, through a precautionary measure, the increases in fees made this year are suspended and that, in the next due dates, the affiliates recover the extra paid.
From
prepaid medicine sources, they tell this newspaper that last Wednesday, they were on the verge of an agreement with the Government
. And that the directors of the UAS had discussed the issue with
Mario Lugones, an advisor to the Chief of Staff who would have led the issue and who has a political terminal in Javier Milei himself
. That the understanding was to freeze quotas in May and June and that the recovery of what was lost in recent months would be obtained in a year or 18 months.
"Mario Lugones kicked the board, suddenly told us 'I have instructions not to talk to you anymore' and chose us as enemies
," says a manager who sat in the Cabinet and in the offices of the SSS, which today are run by Claudio Stivelman and Gabriel Oriolo. The businessmen affirm that they no longer have the increases collected in January in their coffers because "we gave it to the provider and we spent it on supplies. Thus, we are going to break down the system shortly," they point out in an alarming tone.
According to them, in 2023 prepaid bills increased by 134% while the CPI was 211% and "health inflation" (a measure used in several countries and which always exceeds the Consumer Price Index) was 227%. The national government says that with these actions of denouncing "cartelization" and asking the Justice to roll back the increases, they will stop the abuse of prepaid businessmen who "confused price with cost" and that they will manage to be guarantors of free competition but without the middle class, the main user of this system, suffering.
And thus, they will break Belocopitt's "financial business" and will manage to end "historic negotiations with the State." According to the officials who drafted these administrative and judicial actions, from now on "they must act as health providers and not as financial entities with people's money":
The point that they show as a decisive point is that the UAS had agreed with Minister Sergio Massa on an increase for this month of January of 6.56%. And that, after the election was lost and after the DNU that freed the businessmen to be able to define the increases, they defined a 40% increase "in one go." And of that percentage, only 205 was what was increased for doctors, on average. All business profit.
Now, the fate of this fight between heavyweights plays, fundamentally, in the resolution taken by the Federal, Civil and Commercial Justice where the request for an amparo is instructed to stop the increases in prepaid payments this year 2024.