JANUARY 03, 2007

BACK to Work They Go: The streets of downtown San José were uncharacteristically quiet yesterday as workers eased their way back into their routines after the holiday break.

COPA del Café: Costa Rica's Andrea Gonzalez returned the ball during a doubles match she played with partner Andreina Mesalles at the Copa del Café (Coffee Cup) yesterday. The Tica pair lost against Kristy Frilling, from the United States, Julia Glushko, from Israel. The tournament, in its 43 rd year, has gathered 64 young men and 64 young women from around the world to compete at the Costa Rican Country Club in Escazú, west of San José.

Fernando José Berrocal, son of Public Security Minister Fernando Berrocal, was found dead Monday morning in a beach house in the popular Pacific beach town of Montezuma, on the Nicoya Peninsula, according to the Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ).

Although the Costa Rican Red Cross saw fewer violent deaths in 2006 than the year before, an increase in the number of roadway deaths has the organization worried about the dangerous state of the nation's roads, according to spokeswoman Noemi Coto.

Costa Rica's soccer team La Selección Nacional, commonly known as La Sele, begins a new era today as Hernán Medford takes over to coach the team's 26 players.

Public Security Minister's Son Found Dead

By Leland Baxter-Neal
Tico Times Staff | lbaxter@ticotimes.net

Fernando José Berrocal, son of Public Security Minister Fernando Berrocal, was found dead Monday morning in a beach house in the popular Pacific beach town of Montezuma, on the Nicoya Peninsula, according to the Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ).

Berrocal was found hanging from a ceiling beam by a housecleaner, according to an OIJ spokeswoman who asked that her name be withheld. The OIJ has determined the cause of death to be suicide, but will provide no further information, she told The Tico Times. Fernando José Berrocal, 31, was one of the Public Security Minister's four children.

Berrocal was laid to rest during a funeral yesterday afternoon at the funeral home Jardines del Recuerdo, in Heredia, north of San José.

Violent Deaths Decrease Slightly
Last Year, Roadway Deaths Up

By Amanda Roberson
Tico Times Staff | aroberson@ticotimes.net

Although the Costa Rican Red Cross saw fewer violent deaths in 2006 than the year before, an increase in the number of roadway deaths has the organization worried about the dangerous state of the nation's roads, according to spokeswoman Noemi Coto.

During 2006, the Red Cross attended to 370 people who died in roadway accidents, including 164 killed in collisions, 63 killed in overturned cars and 143 who were hit by cars, up from the 332 roadway deaths that occurred during 2005, according to a statement from the organization.

“It worries us a lot that people are driving out of control and that they're mixing driving with alcohol,” Coto said. “Despite prevention campaigns, these accidents are unfortunately becoming more violent every day.”

The Red Cross saw 912 violent deaths during 2006, slightly less than the 924 deaths registered during 2005, the statement said.

During the month of December, 82 violent deaths were recorded by the Red Cross, most of which were caused by traffic accidents (51%) and firearms (20.7%). The remaining deaths were the result of drownings, falls and unknown causes.

National Soccer Team's New
Coach Medford Takes Over

Costa Rica's soccer team La Selección Nacional, commonly known as La Sele, begins a new era today as Hernán Medford takes over to coach the team's 26 players.

Soccer fans' eyes are on Medford, as many hope he will lead their team to classify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. La Sele will begin competing for a spot in the next World Cup at the Central American Soccer Union (UNCAF) Cup in El Salvador in February. The team is scheduled to train today through Jan. 29 for the event.

The UNCAF Cup will be the first test of the team's new players, who include Roberto Wong, Kevin Sancho, Michael Barrantes, Mario Camacho, Freddy Fernández and Andy Furtado. Veterans Walter Centeno, Rolando Fonseca, José Francisco Porras, Jervis Drummond and Harold Wallace will also take to the field.

Costa Rica competed in the World Cup in Italy in 1990, in South Korea and Japan in 2002 and, most recently, in Germany last June. The team lost all three games it played in Germany (TT, June 16, 2006), leading some fans to blame coach Alexandre Guimaraes. He later resigned, citing threats to him and his family. In November, Medford, who previously coached the Saprissa soccer team, was named La Sele's new coach (TT, Nov. 3, 2006).

-ACAN - EFE

Latin American Cinema Experts to Meet in Panama

Leading cinematographers and video producers from around Latin American are gearing up for a meeting Jan. 17-19 in Panama aimed at sparking appreciation and energy for their art in the region.

Artists from countries including Costa Rica, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic will attend the meeting, sponsored by Panamanian Association of Cinema (ASOCINE).

They plan to select film projects under way in these countries to receive funding from the Latin American-Iberian Assistance Fund, created in 1997 to encourage artists from around the region to work together on film and video projects.

-ACAN - EFE

When you buy any insurance, there is always an “insured amount” or “insured value” stipulated on the policy; this means the maximum amount the insurance company will pay for your claims, under the terms of the contract. For example, if, like many members of our foreign community, you have a Plan 16 medical policy with an insured amount of ¢8 million, that sum is the most the National Insurance Institute (INS) will pay for your health in the policy year. When you renew the policy each year, you wipe the slate clean and start with a fresh ¢8 million.

Plan 16 was designed basically for coverage within Costa Rica, so the insured amount is in local currency, colones. In 1990, when Plan 16 was first available, the insured amount was ¢1 million, which at the time was the equivalent of nearly $12,000 – pretty good coverage in those days, before medical costs escalated.

During the 1990s, as inflation kept eroding the purchasing power of the colón, every few years INS would raise the maximum insured value. The last time was in 1999, to ¢8 million. In January 1999, ¢8 million was equivalent to nearly $30,000, and this still went a long way. Today, however, ¢8 million is equivalent to $15,400, and it simply doesn't cut the mustard if someone has a serious accident or a lingering ailment.

At this time last year, INS announced it was going to “freeze” Plan 16 coverage at a maximum of ¢8 million, but that premiums would continue to rise, following inflation – and in this manner Plan 16 would be phased out. We INS agents were asked to encourage our clients to convert to a new medical policy called INS Medical, in which coverage is stated in U.S. dollars and which has lower deductibles and other advantages over Plan 16, making it an intelligent choice. This still stands – INS Medical is still the best choice for most people.

But INS has just flip-flopped about Plan 16. For 2007, it has increased the maximum insured amount to ¢10 million (this will be done automatically, i.e., those people who had ¢8 million in 2006 will get ¢10 million as of Jan. 1, 2007), and the premiums, in colones, will increase an average of 25%.

What happened? Early in 2006, we heard unofficially that INS was working on a new type of medical policy called seguro médico flexible (flexible medical insurance). In August, INS invited a select group of agents – including yours truly – to a conference about the new product. What it outlined was no better than Plan 16 and a far cry from INS Medical. So the assembled agents gave their opinion, and we believe that is why INS “killed” the flexible project and are back to sprucing up Plan 16 – which, as I have said, is quite inferior to INS Medical.

Claim Procedures

Starting in 2005, INS changed the usage of medical insurance cards. Previously, people who needed a minor treatment would select an affiliated doctor from a list. After the treatment, they would proffer their INS insurance card, which would take care of 70-80% of the bill, and they would pay only the deductible (20-30%) to the doctor. For larger, more expensive ailments, doctors would want to receive their money up front, so they would find 1,001 excuses why they couldn't accept the card, and the patient would have to pay the entire bill, then do the paperwork to claim for reimbursement and wait a month or two to get his or her money from INS.

From the standpoint of INS, this had three notable disadvantages: they were processing mountains of claims and – incredibly – not even INS bureaucrats like paperwork; some doctors made medical mountains out of molehills, and were brazenly overcharging INS for the treatments they administered; and as it was easy to use the INS card for minor ailments and purchases, lots of people were abusing the insurance – I even heard of people using their INS cards to buy dental floss!

So, in 2005, INS changed the use of the card. Now, if someone has a serious medical situation, they should instruct their doctor to obtain from INS a “preauthorization,” which means that the medic and INS agree on a price, and then the patient can use his or her card to pay the lion's share of the bill – only the deductible has to be settled. For minor expenses, the patient has to pay the bills and then prepare and present the paperwork for the claim, and wait for reimbursement. This, for dental floss, is hardly worthwhile.

In this manner, INS solved the three problems it was experiencing and, from the standpoint of an organization not known for being service-oriented, everything was hunky-dory. Clients with minor ailments are not so happy, because they can no longer use their INS cards and their paperwork has increased. But for clients who need major treatment – which is basically what medical insurance is for – the benefits of the change become obvious: they will not be overcharged and can use their INS cards to cover most of the cost.

Contact David Garrett at 233-2455 or info@InsuranceCostaRica.info. The purpose of this column is to give the reader a better understanding of insurance in Costa Rica. The opinions and viewpoints expressed are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent the official position of the National Insurance Institute (INS).