Dominican Republic announces public bidding for tourists’ health insurance
The Dominican government will make public bidding to establish health insurance to cover tourists’ during their stay in the Dominican Republic.
The information arose in Spain, in the framework of the celebration of Fitur 2020, where the Minister of Tourism of the Caribbean country, Francisco Javier García, explained that this has been a claim of China for tourists from that country who visit the Dominican Republic after the Chinese government declared the Dominican Republic as an official tourist destination and the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
He said that although it has been a claim of the Chinese, the insurance covers all tourists, strengthening the country as a destination.
The Minister of Tourism also informed that a large investor has already raised the interest of the Dominican government in building two thousand rooms in the tourist pole of Bahía de las Águilas, which reflects the great interest that has generated among international investors the presentation of the master plan for the development of that tourist pole.
Reactions
The businessman Dr. José Natalio Redondo and the president of the Dominican Association of Health Tourism (ADTS), Dr. Alejandro Cambiaso, put good marks on the official announcement that health insurance will be included in the travel requirements of tourists.
Dr. Redondo, who is president of the Rescue Group (owner of the Bournigal and Punta Cana medical centers), said that a similar proposal has existed on many occasions in the country for more than 20 years.
“Without a doubt, it could become a plus in the offer of services, and a new source of business for some local insurers. But its implementation has been impossible, until now”, he said.
He analyzed that the main problem is the cost of a policy that covers medical eventualities in such a few days of stay, regardless of the age and pre-existing conditions of the traveler, and the price at which it would have to be sold.
On the other hand, it cites the level of top medical coverage, along with the different extra coverage to the medical part that includes, such as loss of flight, replacement of air tickets, loss of luggage, repatriation due to major illness, repatriation of corpse and others.
“In addition, the vast majority of passenger policies are linked, to a large extent, to the primary medical insurance of travelers in their country of origin. That is to say, the “insurance” of the traveler covers what the primary insurance of the country of origin does not cover ”, he points out.
He says that this is why travelers’ insurance policies in Europe, Canada, and the majority of the United States are so economical compared to the price/cost that local policies would have when actuarial market studies have been evaluated.
“In any case, it is an issue that deserves a deeper evaluation, lest, in addition to being deficient, they become a stumbling block in the quality of medical care for tourists, and a significant reduction in local and foreign direct investment in the health sector”.
Dr. Cambiaso understands that travel insurance for tourists who visit us to provide timely assistance for emergency and emergency situations is a favorable attribute to strengthen the security of the destination.
“I believe that we can aspire to have an optional traveler’s insurance that meets international standards and has a private-public consensus, excellent response capacity, coverage, and cost-effectiveness”, he said.
It is important to recognize that the health service providers that offer this type of service to international and traveler’s insurance, require investing in international accreditations, state-of-the-art technology, trained and bilingual staff.
“They must be paid accordingly so that they can continue betting on the quality and modernization of the sector,” said the president of the Dominican Health Tourism Association.