PMO is a unique concept that Argentina has and comes from their constitutional idea of free healthcare. PMO is essentially what any sort of health insurance needs, must, and has to cover the payment for when someone goes to the hospital and gets treatment or medicine.

Another unique thing in Argentina is the Obras Sociales which are basically unions for almost all formal workers in the country. And these unions provide health coverage to all those within them, and must comply with PMO in covering what treatments fall under it.

So, the issue? For unions they only take a certain percent of the workers income to help cover health insurance. So if someone makes a lot or if someone makes a little it’s the same percentage of income. And some unions have nothing but low paid workers meaning the unions themselves have very little money. So, when PMO is modified and things are added to it those unions with low money must provide the monetary compensation for the treatments which, if enough treatments fall under PMO, could essentially bankrupt the smaller poorer unions. Which leads to those workers joining bigger richer unions and driving up costs more than they drive up union earnings. Lastly, politicians will advocate for adding things to PMO as a way to gain popularity and votes which in turn raises costs unions pay and can lead to smaller poorer unions being completely dissolved under the financial stress.

Noah Hillis