Caja Limps Along without Extra Funds

The country's universal Social Security (Caja) health care system continues to limp along without the extra government funding that helped it pay its bills last year. President Laura Chinchilla warned last year that the government bailout could not continue.

Meanwhile, vaccines aimed at immunizing 313,000 children and adults against influenza (which usually hits hard here this time of year) is late in arriving. But financial problems are showing, reported the English-language paper, The Tico Times Friday.

The flu vaccines are usually ordered from the PanAmerican Health Organization in October or November. Last week, the newspaper La Nacion reported that the Caja had "been taken by surprise" by the flu epidemic.

But vaccinations are going to be late arriving because they were not ordered until Jan. 30, responded the regional health organization.

Originally, it was reported that Costa Rica "must wait in line for the vaccines." But the health organization sternly corrected this, saying that it was not its custom to force any nation to form a line for vaccines.

La Nacion also had been told that the flu shots were not available because the United States got first crack at the vaccines. Only after the news had been published was it revealed that, since the shots came to more than a million dollars ($1.3 million to be exact) they needed to be approved by the Caja board of directors.

According to officials, this was delayed because of the death of a board member. Last Tuesday, Minister of Health Daisy Corrales had said the delay was caused by Caja liquidity problems. Whatever, the regional health body promised that the flue shots should arrive Feb. 20.

The Tico Times Friday offered readers an insight into what Caja budget cuts can do to a provincial hospital that was for years at the end of the bureaucratic food chain. The new budget cuts the Grecia hospital back to four doctors as a regular schedule.

Doctors told the paper there is no way they can give the service patients deserve with such a tiny staff. Moreover, they added, the hospital is falling apart since it has been neglected for years.