“In order to materialize the offer presented by the Insurance Company awarded the new insurance contract of the UPV/EHU (AON Iberia Correduria de Seguros y Reseguros), the IMQ Igualatorio Médico Surgical makes available to the University workers the possibility of hiring their health insurance at lower prices.” This is the message that the UPV/EHU workers received in their personal accounts on 17 May. “This offer will also apply to UPV/EHU staff who currently have health insurance with the IMQ and are interested in joining the UPV/EHU, provided that they do not change to a lower standard than they currently have contracted,” she details below. From 1 May to 30 June, workers have a deadline to accept the “offer”. Several sources from the UPV/EHU have explained to ARGIA that for years the UPV/EHU has transferred the supply of private health insurance to its workers annually.

Ten thousand private insurance

The email informs employees that all information is available on this link of the UPV/EHU website. Offering and IMQ services are detailed in the Offer for UPV/EHU staff document with the signature of the IMQ and the AON insurance companies. “Exclusive economic conditions for the UPV/EHU, at least 15%

with discount on private rates,” the document says. IMQ enables four types of services to be contracted: IMQ Active with copayment + IMQ Optima teeth; IMQ Blue with and without copayments (except psychotherapy) + IMQ Optima teeth; MQ Gold with copayment + IMQ Optima teeth; and IMQ Optima teeth.

But the offer is not only for the workers, but also for “their family coexistence units”. That is, for the parents of the couple, children, worker or partner, if they live in the same home. According to the data provided by the last Governing Council, the UPV/EHU has 7,867 direct workers (excluding outsourced staff, private police officers or cleaning personnel), to which the abovementioned family members add, the offer of discounts for private health insurance is aimed at thousands of citizens.

Political will to change the model

“The public university should not encourage private health insurance under any circumstances,” ARGIA said from the UPV LAB syndicate when asked about the offer. Beyond this particular case, the union denounces that the UPV/EHU is deepening the “privatizing and neoliberal model” and that the process of privatization of health services is general: “Many of the health services provided to UPV/EHU workers have long been in the hands of private companies, such as analytics and medical examinations. The services that the UPV/EHU itself provided through its health professionals have gradually passed into private hands, on the campus of Álava we have had 4 years without doctors, these and others are leaving out”.

LAB calls on the UPV/EHU to change the model “to strengthen public services and not to allocate public funds to private businesses”. For its part, the UPV/EHU is dependent on government administration and its staff are public administration personnel. In this regard, the union has also addressed political institutions and parties: “From the institutional level and from the political parties, measures must be promoted to end these practices and strengthen public services, in this case health services for teaching staff. But that, above all, requires political will.”