Today we started our day off with a lecture from the current Deputy Minister of Health of CABA. This lecture educated us more about the public system and the ministry’s role in funding this system. The provinces are divided into regions, each containing a nuclear team that cares for the people in that region. These teams include a physician, pediatrician, nurse, and a non-medical health promotion worker. Additionally, the government added two verticals to the public system to help improve productivity. These two advancements are the electronic system, which allows records to be easily transferred, and the appointment system, which tracks the hours doctors spend working one-on-one with patients. There is a problem with the public system because, by law, they are not allowed to eliminate hospitals, since healthcare is a right for all people. The next lecture we attended was by Gabriel Leverstein, the director of the largest union in Argentina. We learned about how the Obras Sociales function and that people can switch between them as they please. We had a break for lunch and went to a cute café next door, then attended our last lecture. This lecture was given by Dr. Luis Gimenez and taught us about the Ministry of Health at the national level. The National Ministry of Health’s main roles are to design programs to address gaps in the system, oversee national insurance, regulate drug and product safety, and more. Since healthcare is seen as a right in Argentina, the Ministry of Health’s objective is to expand universal health coverage. Currently, people are having trouble getting medications for chronic illnesses covered, which is due to the many challenges a public health system faces. Finally, we ended our day with a tour of the Museo Etnográfico, where we saw artifacts from Argentina’s history. Our whole group got dinner to celebrate Lucas’s birthday!

Our discussions today were very focused on the Obras Sociales, which brings up the topic of PMOs. A PMO is a mandatory medical program that outlines the minimum healthcare benefits that must be covered by healthcare insurance providers. There is no maximum number of conditions and medications that can be added to the PMO, which can create problems for the Obras Sociales. This happens because, when more conditions are added to the PMO—meaning insurance companies are required to cover them—there is no additional funding provided to account for those costs. This financially hurts the Obras Sociales, especially those with fewer resources due to the demographics they serve. Also, since people can switch between different Obras Sociales, many will switch to a more expensive plan while sick and then return to the cheaper one when they are well. These actions also drain money from the Obras Sociales, making it hard for leaders to stay financially stable and protect their members.

See you tomorrow!!