The opposition asks Antifraud to investigate the signing of the former Andalusian Deputy Minister of Health by an insurer

nThe signing of the former Deputy Minister of Health of the Government of Andalusia Miguel Ángel Guzmán as medical director in the community of the private insurer Asisa just three months after he announced his resignation for personal reasons at the end of last December has angered the Andalusian opposition, which considers that it violates the regional law on incompatibilities of senior officials. The PSOE-A has asked for explanations from the president of the autonomous Government, the popular Juan Manuel Moreno, and Por Andalucía and Adelante Andalucía have announced complaints to the Andalusian Office against Fraud and Corruption.

Guzmán has declined to make statements to this newspaper about the controversy generated around his signing and has referred to the press conference of the Government Council this Tuesday. “They have all the information,” he said. There, the spokesperson for the Board, Ramón Fernández-Pacheco, has assured that the Andalusian Executive was unaware of the former deputy minister's jump to the private sector until Cadena SER reported the information on Monday. “We are not aware that there is any type of incompatibility according to Andalusian legislation, the only thing we can do is collect all the information and act accordingly,” alleges Fernández-Pacheco, who adds: “We are absolutely against revolving doors. , but also that the move into politics harms the people who decide to take the leap.”

From the insurer's communications department they confirm that Guzmán will join his position as medical director in Andalusia “in the coming days” and that the former senior official of the Board explained to the entity that “he had carried out all the procedures required by the Andalusian legislation and which considered that it did not incur incompatibilities.” “In any case, it is up to him to comply with these procedures,” the interlocutor points out, indicating that Asisa has valued his professional health career and career as a public and also private position.

Guzmán did explain to Cadena SER that the position is not incompatible with his work in the Ministry of Health, that he is not a public official, that before working in the Board he had been employed for 23 years in the private sector – also in a mutual insurance company. insurer― and that Asisa does not currently have any type of contractual agreement with the autonomous Administration.

The Andalusian law on incompatibilities of senior officials of 2005 establishes that their functions cannot be made compatible with “the exercise of positions, by themselves or through an intermediary, that involve management, representation or advisory functions of all types of companies, commercial societies and civil, and for-profit consortia, although both do not carry out public purposes or services or have contractual relations with administrations, organizations or public companies.” The norm later adds that “when those [cargos públicos] They may be reinstated in the exercise of these, without any term restriction.”

This last point is what makes some experts consulted, such as Federico Castillo, professor of Administrative Law at the University of Granada, think that the former vice-counselor would not have to wait for the two years following the cessation of public office stipulated by another of the articles of the law. Other jurists disagree. “In two years he cannot carry out private activities related to the files that he processed while he held a position on the Board. We would have to see how many files Asisa is in, and there will be some,” says Roberto Galán, professor of Administrative Law at the University of Seville.

Rosa Gutiérrez Conde, a lawyer specializing in Administrative Law, considers that the article of the law that affects Guzmán is another, the one that establishes incompatibility between senior officials and positions “of all kinds, management or representation functions, as well as advice and mediation of companies or concessionaire companies, real estate companies, contractors of works, services or supplies, or with participation or aid from the public sector. She also maintains that two years should have passed since his dismissal. “In any case, explanations should be given and it should be clarified whether or not there are irregularities,” she warns.

A case of “political corruption”

Regardless of whether Guzmán's signing violates this law or not, the opposition is clear that this case is an example of “political corruption.” José Ignacio García, spokesperson for Adelante Andalucía, has pointed out the former deputy minister as “the person responsible for the poor functioning of public health and the chaos of the waiting lists.” From Por Andalucía, Inma Nieto has emphasized the fact that her “signing for a private insurer that has many benefits in Andalusia” is not only “criticizable in ethical terms,” but “could also be illegal.” Both groups will present complaints to the Anti-Fraud Office in the next few hours. The PSOE-A asks Moreno to “clarify how the rules of incompatibility of his senior officials are met.” “After diverting huge amounts of public funds from public to private healthcare, there is now a transfer of former public positions to private entities,” says socialist spokesperson Josele Aguilar.

Guzmán has a degree in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Malaga, as well as a specialist in Occupational Medicine and a senior technician in Occupational Risk Prevention from the Generalitat of Catalonia. Before number two of the current Minister of Health, Catalina García, was manager of the Andalusian Health Service with the previous holder of that portfolio, Jesús Aguirre. In all these years, Andalusian public health has suffered a profound deterioration, with a collapse in primary care and skyrocketing surgical waiting lists. During his term, pandemic emergency contracting was ordered to be extended for the two years following its end. It was in the midst of controversy over the increase in waits and after the announcement of a million-dollar concert with private healthcare to alleviate them when Guzmán and the manager of the SAS, Diego Vargas, announced their resignation at the end of last year, although both argued that they did so. For personal motives.

Asisa is one of the largest private insurers in the country. In Andalusia it has up to 99 health centers, delegations, offices and hospitals, according to its website. YesYour billing volume increased last year by 4% lbequeathing them 615.2 million euros, the same percentage as the volume of premiums, which amounted to almost 1.5 million. Asisa accounts for 24% of the insurance market in this community, only behind SegurCaixa Adeslas, which has 31%, according to 2022 data provided by Cooperative Research between Insurance Entities and Pension Funds (ICEA). The insurance market has increased in Andalusia since the pandemic. In In 2019, 19.55% of the population had contracted a health policy, a percentage that three years later increased to 22.09%, three points below the Spanish average.

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