Today, we visited the Etnograpfico Museum, which had displayed indigenous clothing and relics from southern South America, showing their lifestyles before Spanish occupation. Also, we talked with the Current Deputy Minister of Health of Buenos Aires, the Director of the Obra Social de Comercio, the largest union in Argentina, and a former Deputy Minister of Health. These important people have shaped the healthcare system in the past years to what it is now.

The talked about what the unions provide for its members and the logistics behind negotiating with hospitals and following government restrictions. A PMO is a government regulation on the Obras Sociales on what they must cover as a minimum for their members. There is no theoretical limit to how much the government can put on the PMO, meaning that politicians can use this to benefit their campaigns. In order to get more votes from the people, politicians promise to add certain things to the PMO, like Ozempic, forcing unions to cover the cost of Ozempic for their members. This is bad for the Obras Sociales because it increases costs without raising its income. Obras Sociales are capped at what premiums they can charge, with a certain percentage of household income being the maximum. Without being able to charge more money, the unions are essentially paying for more things with the same budget. Ultimately, smaller Obras Sociales are unable to pay for all the things and the members go to larger unions that can.

The leaders of the Obras Sociales struggle with balancing profitability and what it can cover with its budget. Although unions are not directly attempting to profit off of their members, they try to maintain a surplus of cash, in case of a national emergency like the Covid-19 Pandemic. With their funds stretched thin to cover different programs and medications, it is becoming harder for unions to exist. Many people rely on unions for access to healthcare, losing unions entirely would absolutely destroy the health system in the country.