COVID Symptoms Less Severe but COVID Payout Remain High

Hernando Montas

One interesting revelation today was that while the number of COVID cases is fewer today and the symptoms are less severe than a few months ago, the Social Security Board says that payouts for COVID sickness claims remain high. S.S.B. Actuary, Hernando Montas says there are some disparities that need to be examined.

Hernando Montas, S.S.B. Actuary

“COVID is having a big impact on this scheme now. And I don’t know how you can tell doctors to realize that once they issue a prescription, they are very complacent with some people so – there’s no way to control what they do, but the COVID increase – I don’t know, if COVID is coming down but the cost of COVID is going up. There has to be some control there but it’s very difficult control what doctors prescribe. And the insured persons, some of them like – the problem is most social security schemes only replace two-thirds of (people’s) salaries when they are sick. Here in 2001 it was increased to eighty percent and we told them at that time that that was too much. So people with eighty percent of their salary are very happy. They don’t want to go back to work when they get eighty percent. And if they continue working at home and nobody realizes that they are continuing working, they can get the salary or the self-employed scheme – the self-employed income and at the same time get COVID (sick benefit). So there is a little problem with compliance and inspection there that has to be looked at very carefully.”