Reorganized Social Security for contributing to the Health System’s Efficiency during COVID – 19: An experience from Dominican Republic

Spanish:

El 01 de marzo de 2020, se diagnosticó el primer caso en República Dominicana, y el 17 de marzo de 2020, el Gobierno dominicano anunció una serie de medidas sanitarias, sociales y económicas. Entonces, se conformó una comisión de alto nivel para la Prevención conformada por diferentes Ministros incluyendo al Superintendente de Salud y Riesgos Laborales.

El 2 de abril mediante decreto el Poder Ejecutivo creó el “Fondo de Asistencia Solidaria al Empleo (FASE), con dos modalidades:

1. Para las empresas que debieron continuar operando, se establecieron subsidios para que mantuvieran la nómina y sus cotizaciones al Sistema Dominicano de Seguridad Social;
2. Para las que debieron cerrar bajo autorización del Ministerio de Trabajo, y se acogieron a la suspensión temporal de los contratos de trabajo, sus trabajadores fueron inscritos en programas de subsidios que han incluido la preservación de la cobertura del Seguro Familiar de Salud para su núcleo familiar, con dependientes directos y adicionales, aun cuando dejaron de cotizar al ser suspendidos.

A través de la liberación de las Reservas del Seguro de Riesgos Labores se pudo financiar el respaldo a las empresas y a los cotizantes.
Y a través del Seguro Familiar de Salud se mantuvo la cobertura de salud a toda la población. Se garantizó de manera universal la realización de las pruebas diagnósticas PCR, para que 54 Prestadores de Salud Privados formarán parte de los Centros COVID, se garantizaron los Equipos de Protección personal y se realizaron ajustes de tarifas y así mantener la red privada disponible con el aumento de la oferta de camas hospitalarias en el país, entre otras acciones, como la entrega de medicamentos de Alto Costo (Remdesivir) y la garantía en la atención integral de las personas ingresadas con COVID sin costo alguno para la población afectada.

República Dominicana se clasifica como uno de los países con menor mortalidad por COVID-19; y uno de los primeros países en declararla como enfermedad profesional.

English:

On March 1, 2020, the first case was diagnosed in the Dominican Republic, and on March 17, 2020, the Dominican Government announced a series of health, social and economic measures. Then, in order to focus actions by public authorities in the health, social and economic and social fields, a high-level commission for Prevention was formed, made up of different Ministers, including the Superintendent of Health and Occupational Risks.

On April 2, by decree, the Executive Branch created the “Solidarity Employment Assistance Fund (FASE), with two modalities:

1. For companies that had to continue operating, subsidies were established to maintain their payroll and contributions to the Dominican Social Security System;
2. For those that had to close and, under authorization from the Ministry of Labor, took advantage of the temporary suspension of employment contracts, their workers were enrolled in subsidy programs that have included the preservation of Family Health Insurance coverage for their nuclear family, with their direct and additional dependents, even when they stopped contributing when they were suspended.

Through the release of the Labor Risk Insurance Reserves, it was possible to finance support for companies and contributors. And through the Family Health Insurance, health coverage was maintained for the entire population. PCR diagnostic tests were universally guaranteed, so that 54 Private Health Providers will be part of the COVID Centers, Personal Protective Equipment was guaranteed and rate adjustments were made to keep the private network available with the increase in the supply of hospital beds in the country, among other actions, such as the delivery of high-cost medicines (Remdesivir) and the guarantee of comprehensive care for people admitted with COVID at no cost to the affected population.

The Dominican Republic is classified as one of the countries with the lowest mortality from COVID-19. One of the first countries to declare COVID-19 an occupational disease.

Featured Speaker: Leticia Martínez MARTIÑON

Spanish:

Directora de Estudios Actuariales. Superintendencia de Salud y Riesgos Laborales en la República Dominicana.

• Coordinadora de la Especialidad Cálculo Actuarial. Vida y Pensiones. Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo.

• Actuaria. Facultad de Ciencias de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

• Maestría en Gestión Actuarial de la Seguridad Social. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas de la Universidad de Buenos Aires. Argentina.

• Demógrafa. Centro Latinoamericano de Demografía. San Jose. Costa Rica. • Especialidad en Métodos Multivariados. INEGI-CIMAT. México.

• Integrante de la Junta Directiva del CIESS es la Representante de los países miembros asociados.

Es la Actuaria del Seguro Familiar de Salud y del Seguro de Riesgos Laborales del Sistema Dominicano de Seguridad Social dirige la Dirección de Estudios Actuariales quien se encarga de planificar y dirigir el monitoreo, control y fiscalización de la solvencia técnica-actuarial de los beneficios que componen el Seguro Familiar de Salud y el Seguro de Riesgos Laborales, para asegurar el otorgamiento de los beneficios establecidos a la población afiliada en el marco de sostenibilidad del Sistema Dominicano de Seguridad Social.

English:

Director of Actuarial Studies. Superintendence of Health and Occupational. Risks in the Dominican Republic.
• Coordinator of the Actuarial Calculation Specialty, Life and Pensions, Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo.
• Actuary, Faculty of Sciences of the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
She is the Actuary of the Family Health Insurance and the Occupational Risk Insurance of the Dominican Social Security System, and directs the Directorate of Actuarial Studies. She is in charge of planning and directing the monitoring, control and supervision of the technical-actuarial solvency of the benefits for the Family Health Insurance and the Occupational Risk Insurance to ensure that the benefits are established for the entitled population within the framework of sustainability of the Dominican Social Security System.

1. She is having a Master’s Degree in Actuarial Management of Social Security, Faculty of Economic Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
2. She is a trained Demographer from Latin American Center for Demography, San Jose. Costa Rica.
3. She is having a specialized training on Multivariate Methods from INEGI-CIMAT, Mexico.

She is a member of the Board of Directors of CIESS and is the representative of the associate member countries.

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