The proposal of private insurers to the competition to renew health care for civil servants through Muface poses an unprecedented scenario: on December 31 the contract with Adeslas, Asisa and DKV ends and, for the moment, neither these nor other companies They want to take charge of the coverage of one and a half million officials with their beneficiaries. Or, at least, to do so under the conditions proposed by the Ministry of Public Function and which represent, as indicated by the department headed by Óscar López, the largest increase of the first in the historical series, with an increase of 17.12% .
For the moment, Muface indicated in the only public communication since this Tuesday that “medical and assistance care will be maintained under the current terms” and that “work will begin for a new tender.” The current terms are in place because officials who opt for private insurance continue to have access to this service and the calendar limits the deadlines for a new tender. For this reason, different sources explain that the Ministry “is considering extending the contract.”
The agreement in force, published in the Official State Gazette on December 24, 2021, guaranteed coverage from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2024. The specifications already contemplated that “if the entity did not subscribe with Muface a new concert for the year 2025, will continue to be obligated (…) until January 31, 2025” for all its insured, until the March 31 for those who are hospitalized and for pregnant women with a due date scheduled for February until maternity care ends.
And after? Muface indicated this Tuesday that it would guarantee “the continuity of health benefits in accordance with the mechanisms provided for in the Public Sector Contracts Law.” The rule contemplates the possibility of extending contracts unilaterally by the administration “when at the expiration of a contract the new contract that guarantees the continuity of the provision has not been formalized” for “a maximum period of nine months, without modifying the remaining conditions. That is, insurers would be obliged to continue providing the service with the premium they accepted in 2021, without the increase proposed by the Public Service for the period 2025-2026.
This scenario would not, in any case, be preferred by any of the parties. In fact, the Ministry is working on a new tender with which they hope to attract companies. Sources in the sector say that they are waiting for this new offer in which, in addition to financing, which they consider “fundamental”, other keys can be touched that improve what, in their opinion, imbalances in the system, such as coverage or the high average age of civil servant portfolios. Precisely, with the public job offers that will be resolved in the coming months, the Government already foresees a reduction in that average age. “We will have to look at the proposal as a whole,” these sources indicate.
From the Independent Trade Union and Civil Servants Center (CSIF) they consider that a forced extension would mean a “legal mess that does not suit anyone” and they regret the “uncertainty” in which the mutualists are mired. This union has called for a protest on November 11 at the doors of the Government subdelegations and in front of the Ministry of Finance.
For the moment, the General Management of Muface has called the unions for an urgent meeting, this Thursday, November 7. The meeting is expected to be tense because the organizations have the feeling that “the social part has been left out” of the work. “History is not going to be calm at all,” indicate CCOO sources, who trust that the Ministry has an ace up its sleeve, in the form of an extension with which to pressure the companies or that other solutions are offered.
The agreement approved by the Council of Ministers at the beginning of October for 2025 and 2026, which the insurers have rejected, amounted to a total amount of more than 1,337 million euros for the first year and 1,345 for the second, with a total biannual increase of 304 million euros compared to the last year of validity of the previous concert.
“We believe that the conditions established in the tender are insufficient and do not allow the current quality of care to be maintained. Despite our firm desire to maintain the link with Muface, the lack of adequate financing together with more demanding coverage in some aspects than those provided by the National Health System (SNS) itself and the decision of the rest of the entities to abandon “The service to this mutual society makes it impossible for ASISA to maintain adherence to the model without seriously putting our solvency at risk,” indicated this company, which currently provides service to some 364,000 people.
Adeslas, which currently serves more than half a million mutual members, has also refused to participate in the Muface concert under current conditions, although it will attend the one that covers Justice officials (Mugeju) and the military (Isfas). DKV, which currently provides service to around 200,000 people, has indicated through its X account that, “in the current circumstances”, they consider that they cannot offer “the level of quality care that mutual members deserve.”
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