Not even two decades have passed since former communist minister Daniel Olesker pushed for the largest state intervention in the health system in recent times: the creation of the National Health Fund (FONASA).
Since then, several mutual societies have faced severe financial problems, and some have even closed their doors, highlighting the weaknesses of a model that, far from strengthening healthcare, seems to have condemned it to perpetual crisis.
A recent example is the case of Casa de Galicia, which in 2021 became the latest institution to close its doors following a controversial government intervention.
This intervention culminated in the transfer of its assets to CASMU in an auction that raised suspicions about its transparency and purpose.
However, CASMU, the beneficiary of this process, is not free from difficulties: for years it has been dragging a delicate financial situation. Curiously, during the last electoral campaign, it was revealed through a post-election letter that several of its leaders and doctors supported the candidacy of Yamandú Orsi, suggesting a possible alignment between political and business interests in the sector.
In that same electoral context, the current president, Luis Lacalle Pou, promised what in English jargon is called a bailout: the rescue of a bankrupt private business with public funds.
This practice, common in systems where the state acts as a lifeline for inefficient companies, had its most recent chapter just two days ago, when Parliament—with the favorable vote of all parties except Gustavo Salle's Identidad Soberana—approved a multimillion-dollar subsidy of 23 million dollars to support CASMU.
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