The College of Biochemists pronounced itself on the financial crisis in clinical analysis laboratories.

The entity pointed out that despite the importance of their role, "the laboratories face significant financial challenges due to the insufficient compensation received from social and prepaid health insurance companies".

The Association of Biochemists (Cobico) warned about the financial crisis in the clinical analysis laboratories of the province of Córdoba, "in the context of the growing crisis in the health sector". Through a statement, headed by the president and vice-president, Silvia Ligorria and Diego Colussi, the entity expressed "its deep concern for the situation they are facing".

In the statement, the biochemists of the province point out that in spite of the importance of their role, "the laboratories face significant financial challenges due to the insufficient compensation received from social security and prepaid health insurance companies".

They describe that biochemists invest in technological updating, equipment maintenance, continuous training, and environmental management, among other key aspects to ensure the quality of their services. "However, the lack of adequate financial coverage compromises their ability to keep these standards high," says Cobico.
It should be noted that, given the rise in inflation and the increase in the dollar, more and more health professionals are now charging co-payments, including biochemists, kinesiologists and dentists.
Although the professional association does not establish agreements directly with insurance companies or health entities, in the communiqué it stated that it is a firm defender of the quality of biochemical services.
In this regard, the association "has noted with concern how payments for services rendered are often significantly delayed by health insurers, a striking contrast to the speed with which they collect fees from members at the beginning of each month. This delay puts laboratories in a complicated situation, which have already advanced expenses to be able to offer their services and now must wait for a payment that is delayed."
The biochemists state that the situation is aggravated by inflation and the increase in the cost of supplies, many of which must be paid in dollars.

Quality and sustainability
In this framework, Cobico implemented a code called Integrated Biochemical Management (IBM), which covers all the aforementioned aspects that are essential for the sustainability of biochemical practices but is not recognized by all funders.

"This code seeks not only to ensure the quality and sustainability of biochemical services but also to represent a concerted effort so that the costs are recognized and covered by the social works and prepaid medicine companies, or ultimately, by the affiliates," they detail.

They also state that for patients this translates into a frustrating dilemma, since they already pay significant fees for their insurance and face the discomfort of having to pay for services that are supposedly covered. "In addition, there is an imbalance in the increases applied by the prepayment companies; the affiliates' fees increase in greater proportion than what the prepayments retribute to the laboratories for their services. In negotiations, the position of the prepayment companies towards the laboratories is usually inflexible, being summarized in a 'take it or leave it'", the statement concludes.