Starting July 14, hundreds of private medical facilities across the Dominican Republic will halt a wide range of routine medical services for patients covered by two of the country’s largest health insurers, Primera ARS and ARS Futuro. The unprecedented service suspension, announced by the National Association of Private Clinics and Hospitals (ANDECLIP), will remain in place indefinitely until the long-running reimbursement dispute between the two sides is resolved.
ANDECLIP president Rafael Mena confirmed that the controversial move was approved by leaders of roughly 130 private health centers after months of unproductive talks to raise insurer reimbursement tariffs. Mena explained that current payment rates set by the insurers have not kept pace with skyrocketing operational costs across the Dominican private healthcare sector. These growing costs span every core part of clinical operations, from electricity and water utility bills to imported medical supplies, routine equipment maintenance, and competitive staff salaries that have had to be adjusted to match rising inflation across the country. Under the current payment structure, Mena added, private providers are losing money on every patient covered by the two insurers, making continued full service unsustainable.
Crucially, ANDECLIP has emphasized that life-saving care will not be interrupted amid the dispute. Emergency department services and intensive care unit admissions will remain fully operational for all patients, regardless of their insurance provider. However, the suspension will impact nearly all non-urgent care, including routine scheduled doctor consultations, laboratory and imaging diagnostic tests, elective surgical procedures, and other pre-planned medical services. The association has issued a public advisory urging patients covered by Primera ARS and ARS Futuro to confirm their appointment status directly with their chosen clinic and their insurance provider before arriving to seek non-emergency care.
The Dominican regulatory body for social security patients, the General Directorate of Information and Defense of Social Security Affiliates (DIDA), has already responded to the announcement, calling for an urgent negotiated resolution that avoids harm to patients. DIDA warned that it will not hesitate to pursue formal legal action against any party that violates the constitutionally guaranteed right to health for Dominican affiliates. As of ANDECLIP’s public announcement, none of the key parties on the other side of the dispute – Primera ARS, ARS Futuro, and the national social health insurance supervisor SISALRIL – have issued any public comment on the planned service suspension.