The Ministry of Health openly defends the possibility of a cessation of the Muface mutual insurance system. and the transfer of public employees affected by the suppression of this medical service, all after the tender for the next two years was cancelled when the insurers decided not to participate in the new tender.
Health has already sent a report to Función Pública, the government department in charge of negotiating and renewing the Muface agreement with the insurance companies, the “feasible” and “reasonable” possibility of the termination of the mutual insurance companies. and the incorporation of the mutualist population.more than 1.5 million public employees and their families, to the public healthcare systemwhich would receive the budget currently allocated to Muface: 1.3 billion euros.
The tender was declared void after a disagreement over the amounts.
The contest to participate in a new concert of the mutual societies was not awarded after the three insurers that had participated between 2021 and 2024, Adeslas, Asisa and DKV, refuse to participate again The insurers are asking for a 33% increase in premiums in 2025 and another 5% in 2026: 38% in total compared to the current rates. The sector considers that a rise of less than 24% would not cover costs, and that with the current agreement they have been suffering losses for years.
The Government improved its initial offer (an improvement of 13.5% in the first year and 0.5% in the second year) to 17.12% more than in the previous agreement, a counteroffer that the insurers considered insufficient.. The current agreement obliges them to provide assistance until January 31 in general terms, and until March 2025 for exceptions such as hospitalization or maternity. After that, care will fall to a new company… or to the public health system.
Health considers it “feasible” for the public health system to assume the care of mutualists.
The idea that Health now considers “feasible” is the cessation of the Muface system and incorporate, within nine months, all the beneficiaries of the system into the public health system.
This increase would have a direct impact on a saturated health care system with overflowing waiting lists, even though the report drawn up by Mónica García’s department softens the impact and analyzes that the real increase would be 2.12%. of the number of people currently receiving public health benefits.
The most affected communities by the incorporation of mutualists into the public health care system, in addition to Ceuta y Melilla (which, according to the report, would see a 5% increase in the number of patients), would be Castilla y León (3.12% more patients), Extremadura (3,02%) y Andalusia (3.02%), as reported by El País.
Since 1975, Muface has provided health care to civil servants and their families.. Some groups of them, such as civil servants in the General State Administration, police officers or secondary school teachers, are obliged to belong to the mutual insurance company, and can choose each year between private or public health care.