Since several years ago, the Cooperative’s Administration Council observed the associated producer’s necessity of having health coverage. Surveys done as part of the AFA’s Cooperative Social Balance and reports developed by “Mutual Federada 25 de Junio” set an objective base for that perception: more than 20% of the producers don’t have social security and a similar percentage have limited coverage and a poor number of options.

Facing this concerning reality, the Administration Council decided to look for a more effective way, for Associated Members and for the Entity, of providing a health service for all the producers who are consistent with the Cooperative. There was a careful and detailed treatment for this issue, since the health coverage system is highly complex. So after long institutional negotiations, the Cooperative signed a high complexity coverage agreement with the company Solidez S.A, valid through an annual contract, since January 1st of 2009 to December 31st of 2009.

All the AFA S.C.L’s Associated Members who are able to access to this coverage must meet the following requirements:

• To have more than 3 consecutive years of trading with the Cooperative, or
• More than 10, consecutive or alternated, years of trading.
  

The investment that the Cooperative will perform to facilitate this medical high complexity coverage will be around AR$ 3 Millions.

Solidez S.A.: Reliability for our Cooperative’s Associated Members

Solidez S.A. is a company that’s composed by non-profit entities, which created a medical high complexity covering company. Solidez S.A. has hired coverage with different entities: prepaid medicine entities, mutual entities, social security entities, cooperatives, all of them through corporative contracts; there are no individual contracts per associated members, but directly per organizations, and they only provide high complexity coverage, specially surgeries and oncologic treatments.

This company mainly covers cases of cardiovascular problems, neurosurgeries, transplants, oncologic treatments, hip prosthesis, shoulder and knee; all of them, due to osteoarthritis or accidents.

One of the organizations which is part of Solidez S.A. is Mutual Federada “25 de Junio”, one of the Social Economy organization, Federated Group member, which have a wide relationship wih AFA S.C.L.