The PMO is a list of all medical services that must be covered under any health insurance scheme. Patients must be provided with a minimum number of services, but there is no upper limit to what can be included.

As I mentioned, this is a legal minimum of services by all entities that provide health coverage, including Obras Sociales, or social security/ unions. In the past, the unions had a lot of power in deciding where their members sought healthcare, either by owning a hospital(s), contracting with a private hospital, or paying fixed rates per service to the public system.

Obras Sociales are funded through a percentage of members’ salaries and are only present for those in the formal work sector. They are the most common form of insurance in the country, covering approximately 48.8% of the population, with only ~65% having any health insurance. However, workers can switch between HMOs (insurance plans) at any time they wish and are guaranteed coverage, even while they are sick.

This leads to healthy, low-cost people leaving more expensive programs (because they are not getting anything from what they are currently paying) and leaving only the sick, more expensive people with the union. This leads to a financial system where the less resource-rich unions, and many richer ones, are constantly paying more into the system than they get from their members. They legally have to cover the PMO, which is very comprehensive and constantly being added to by populist candidates that want to be elected.

This economic system is unsustainable, as there is constantly more money flowing out than in at every level of coverage and care. The people suffering most from this are the doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff that barely make a living wage due to the constant lack of funds.