ASES allocated over $475 million for cancer treatment in 2-year span

By THE STAR STAFF

Puerto Rico Health Insurance Administration (ASES) Executive Director Carlos Santiago said Monday that during fiscal years 2023 and 2024, the public corporation allocated over $475 million in federal Medicaid funds to serve 92,512 patients diagnosed with cancer under the Vital Plan.

He also shared information on a new program called VCARE, for the benefit of patients and providers, under his new administration.

“These figures demonstrate the magnitude of our commitment and the importance of the Vital Plan as a tool to guarantee access to essential services and quality treatments for cancer patients on the island,” said Santiago, who was appointed to lead ASES just over a month ago.

According to statistics from the Puerto Rico Health Information System, 45,728 cancer diagnoses were recorded under the Vital Plan in 2023 and 46,784 in 2024. Currently, the Special Cancer Coverage Registry, which groups patients with a confirmed diagnosis reported by insurers, has 6,133 active patients.

“In response to this reality, we have been developing different efforts to educate our physicians and patients through various strategies, including agreements with educational components throughout the island,” Santiago said. “In addition, we continue to strengthen these agreements with the help of the Health Services Administrators Association, the Hospital Association, the Alliance of 330 Community Health Centers, [and] the Department of Health, … among others. Our goal is to unite so that more people benefit from this unique coverage.”

The ASES chief added that as part of his “commitment to all components of the system, we have created Vital CARE (VCARE), which will be presented soon and will also help us in this process of education and dissemination of important information.”

“This will also serve to guarantee the promotion of the special temporary coverage that ASES has implemented since October 1, 2024, for patients with high suspicion of cancer, which allows those who have a ‘reasonable probability of malignancy’ to be evaluated, diagnosed and begin treatment more quickly,” Santiago said. “The measure seeks to shorten wait times, reduce complications and ensure immediate access to vital services.”