PIP legislators file bills to transform health model in face of current crisis

Through a package of measures, the Puerto Rican Independence Party delegation in the Legislature is promoting, among other aspects, a transformation of the current health system through the establishment of a “National Health Insurance” with universal coverage under a single-payer model focused on the health of patients and not on the profits of insurance companies.

By THE STAR STAFF

Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) Secretary General Juan Dalmau Ramírez, along with the party’s delegation in the island Legislature, reaffirmed on Wednesday, through the filing of a series of legislative measures, the urgent need to fundamentally transform the current health system to guarantee the human right of wellness and a healthy life to all citizens.

“Today, we announce the filing by the PIP legislative delegation, in both the House and the Senate, of a set of measures that seek to urgently establish a Universal Health Plan that guarantees the right to health for the entire population of Puerto Rico, regardless of their socioeconomic level, and that does justice to the hundreds of thousands of people who, under insensitive governments of the NPP [New Progressive Party] and PDP [Popular Democratic Party], have been abandoned and condemned to their fate by not being able to access coverage under the current system,” Dalmau Ramírez said.

In a press conference, the PIP leaders specified that the group of three measures presented promotes, among other aspects, a transformation of the current health system through the establishment of a “National Health Insurance” with universal coverage under a single-payer model focused on the health of patients and not on the profit of insurance companies.

Through this model, they said, the aim is to reform the current remedial approach to a preventive one, utilizing health promotion services, primary disease prevention, primary health care, and effective and comprehensive intervention addressing the social determinants of health. In this way, the PIP’s legislative proposal seeks to improve the population’s quality of health while also reducing government spending.

“We are facing a crisis in the healthcare system, which for many years has suffered from serious administrative inefficiencies and poor distribution of services,” stated Rep. Denis Márquez Lebrón, the PIP minority leader in the lower chamber. “Insurance companies appropriate millions of dollars annually, while Puerto Ricans have to wait months for an appointment and pay exorbitant prices for medications and basic services. It is a practically unusable healthcare system, to the detriment of both patients and service providers. This package of measures seeks to guarantee the right to health for everyone, with a focus on prevention.”

Another important aspect of the PIP’s health proposal is the creation of the “National Health Account,” which will allow for better planning and management of health systems with the aim of making updated and informed public policy decisions that truly benefit the people.

“With this legislation, we seek to end an inhumane view of health, which provokes outrage because it subjects both patients and service providers, particularly those providers subscribed to the government plan, to the abuse and tyranny of insurers who have turned health into a business and control the provision of services according to their profit interests,” Dalmau Ramírez said.

Sen. Adrián González Costa asserted that on an island whose population is aging and where the cost of living has reached an unsustainable level for many families, access to healthcare cannot depend on whether families have the financial resources to afford health services.

“It’s a matter of life or death, not whether you have the money or not,” he said. “That’s what our measures are about: guaranteeing basic health coverage for everyone. Health cannot have a price; it’s a right.”