In turn, the board resolved summarize –because they are public officials– to the former financial manager John Behrendto the former director of SAME-105, José Antonio Rodríguezand to the director Cabrera. The summaries also reach other officials, including the director of the Treinta y Tres Hospital and its financial manager. Regarding this last point, the workers’ representative on the board, Gustavo Gianre, abstained.
“The economic magnitude of the amounts involvedthe systematic reiteration of observations by the Court of Accounts, the possible impact on the public treasury and the behaviors described – which prima facie could transcend the strictly administrative sphere– merit that superiority assess the relevance of bringing the facts to the attention of the competent authorities in criminal matters”, suggested a Legal report that was submitted to the board of directors.
The document detailed that in the investigation extremes emerged that “they could eventually be subsumed into typical figures provided for in current criminal regulations linked to the irregular management of public funds, abuse or deviation of functions.”
ITHG: all purchases observed
Regarding ITHG, the private transfer company established in the previous period and that was targeted by the Frente Amplio from the beginning, the administrative investigation indicates that there was no “competitive procedure” and it received 96.47% of the SAME 105 expense.
The research mentions that They spent more than $2,000,000 without him board “proceed to the corresponding regularization”since all purchases were observed by the Court of Auditorssomething they were aware of.
“It imposed on the hierarchy a reinforced duty of control, supervision and correction of the observed practices”he says and considers inadmissible the “passivity in the face of express and repeated warnings when the amounts were significant and questioned the legality of the procedure.”
In this sense, it stands out that the board of directors is within the administrative responsibility in financial-accounting matters provided for by article 137 of the Tocaf. In turn, article 33 of that text establishes bidding as a general rule, something that was not followed.
“In this case an illegitimate division of expenditure is observed so that the operation falls within the limits of direct purchases when the competitive public bidding procedure would have been appropriate“, he says and considers that this non-compliance constitutes a “serious misconduct.”
The roles of Behrend and Rodríguez
The administrative investigation also found irregularities in the complementation agreements signed with Casmu and the Catholic Circle for moderate care beds and CTI.
We moved from a payment system per day for occupied beds for moderate care to a method of contracting monthly fixed beds for exclusive use at a flat rate. “The change in modality implied an exponential increase in spending,” he says.
In this sense, he mentions that the Behrend made “substantive modifications” to the agreement with the Catholic Circle on CTI beds and other consultations. He assumed a “power of the board that had no delegate,” but he also evaded “internal and external controls” since this change required a prior favorable report from the MSP and intervention from the TCR.
“Added to the above is their responsibility of establishing that in the pediatric CTI agreements with the Catholic Circle medical checks were not carried out, considering it unnecessary given that billing was a flat rate“, says.
Regarding the former financial manager, today with a similar position at the Piñeyro del Campo Hospital, he also states that had “interference” in SAME 105 establishing “specific operating guidelines with the ITHG company” such as “no controls will be carried out on third parties or purchase orders”directives that “they are directly opposed to current regulationsplacing the administration defenseless against possible labor claims”.
Rodríguez, the former director of SAME 105 and currently on pre-retirement leave, made modifications to the agreement with the Catholic Circle that they deviated “from current regulations” and evaded “internal and external controls.”
The investigation accuses him of having dissolved and weakened “control areas” regarding the admission and follow-up of patients to the CTI service and medical monitoring through audits of the medical records of patients who entered moderate care with a flat rate.
These decisions meant that “the billing control system implemented by him was weak, inefficient and ineffective”he adds.
About his role with ITHGsays that he reiterated the observed payments with a “generic motivation” and “artificially divided the expense to avoid entering into a competitive procedure.”
The investigation considers that both had the “intention of making the demands towards ITHG more flexible.” “These are senior officials, with extensive work experience and solid technical knowledge, with respect to whom it is inexcusable that the irregularities already reported have been verified,” he values.
As a summary, as the audit had indicated, it details that there was billing for studies without support in the effective allocation of patients; additional hours corresponding to moderate care beds in conditions not provided for in the agreement; payment of benefits that were already in the flat rate, and authorization of payments for transfers that do not contain data that identifies the provider or the mobile phones used.
It also mentions that there were payments for transfers that appear in the system as canceled or that could not be duly credited, billing for services on common mobile phones but settled as specialized, and payment approvals based exclusively on information provided by the provider itself without independent verification.
Look at her in Thirty-Three
The administrative investigation also questions the agreement between ASSE and Casmu for the Treinta y Tres Hospital. He points out that the mutual company had a small number of users in the department and that there were “weaknesses in the system for monitoring effective compliance with benefits.”
“On certain occasions it was found that although a certain specialist appeared on the form, who was there was another professional of the same specialtya situation that can place the administration in a scenario of vulnerability in the face of possible events of medical liability,” he questions.
He also considers that there was “difficulties” in the correct categorization of surgical acts and errors in determination of the functional link of the acting professional. “They were not formal errors but rather affected the determination of economic rights with potential financial impact for the administration”, so they decided to expand the investigations beyond the responsibilities of the director and the financial manager.
