Gov. Luis Fortuño enacted legislation Wednesday that extends the Mi Salud health plan to all government workers and to small and midsize businesses.
     
     One bill, authored by Rep. José “Pichy” Torres Zamora, gives municipal and public corporation employees the option of choosing the Mi Salud health plan, as well as other alternatives from private insurance firms.Currently, only central government employees have this option.
     
     “We aim to begin offering the benefit of the Mi Salud plan to municipal workers in March and to public corporation employees throughout the rest of the year,” Fortuño said.
     
     Another bill extends the Mi Salud option to small and midsize businesses, and uninsured individuals.This option would be available beginning next summer.
     
     “With Mi Salud, small and midsize businesses will have to ability to buy for their employees a quality healthcare plan at a price significantly more moderate than in the private sector,” Fortuño added.
     
     During a public activity in Caguas, Fortuño also lauded the work of the Health Insurance Administration (known as ASES by its Spanish acronym) that “in only two months expanded the required services under the basic coverage of all private plans available for public employees.” ASES recently took over the task of negotiating health insurance terms for all public employees.
     
     The changes include the elimination of strict caps on medicine coverage, which previously required beneficiaries to pay the entire cost of a medicine once this cap was reached. Now, beneficiaries will only be subject to a deductible payment once the cap is reached.
     
     The changes also include expanded coverage for preventive exams and pregnancy-related procedures. Also, for the first time bariatric surgery and innovative gamma knife procedures have been included, as well as new treatments for drug addiction.
     
     “Mi Salud focuses on the needs of the patient and offers the most ample medical coverage at the lowest price for the benefit of all Puerto Ricans,” Fortuño said.
     
     The governor also enacted legislation authored by Sen. Norma Burgos that makes the development and promotion of the medical toruism industry in Puerto Rico a public policy.
     
     “We have a talented medical population, first rate hospital facilities and a wide range of medical services and surgical procedures that are ruled by the highest safety standards,” the governor said. “We have to promote these advantages to continue serving as the top medical tourism destination in the Caribbean.”