Government seeks solutions for the IPS financial crisis

ASSUMPTION – In response to the complex financial situation that the Social Security Institute (IPS) is going through, the National Government, under the direction of President Santiago Peña, is evaluating various alternatives to resolve these problems and ensure compliance with suppliers of supplies and medicines, as revealed this Wednesday at a press conference.

At a meeting held today at Mburuvicha Róga, President Peña summoned IPS authorities to discuss possible solutions. After the meeting, the head of IPS, Jorge Britez, stressed that the president is “involved in the issue”, stressing the importance that the current administration attaches to the financial situation of IPS and the quality of service to its policyholders.

Britez described the meeting as very productive and noted that several alternatives were explored to finance the current pension liabilities. “The president asked us to improve health care. “We are going to explain to our suppliers the situation we are in and how we will meet our financial commitments,” he stated.

For his part, the financial manager of the IPS, Américo Riquelme, explained that financial tools are being considered to “oxygenate” the suppliers, who continue to supply supplies and medicines despite the delicate economic situation of the IPS. Among the alternatives is the possibility of promoting a session of rights and other long-term financial tools to achieve an economic balance without affecting the operation of the pension or generating interruptions in services to policyholders.

Riquelme revealed that the IPS’s current debt with its suppliers is approximately US$500 million, and it also faces a liability of US$400 million with the financial system. The current administration inherited a total debt of 3.3 billion, of which around one billion has already been paid for the provision of medicines, supplies and infrastructure works.

“The Health Fund has a very heavy stress and liability, which we are honoring. The debt continues to grow, so we are looking for alternatives to reduce it,” explained Riquelme. Likewise, he mentioned that the public sector owes the IPS about 510 million dollars, while private sector companies owe 4.4 billion.

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