Day 10! Today was another day in the University of Austral building in downtown Buenos Aires. Our first lesson discussed the public healthcare sector and Ministry of Health, presented to us by the Ministry of Health National Director. She was previously a NICU director and coordinator, as well as did a pediatric residence and a fellowship in neonatology. Her job in the Ministry of Health is to distribute equipment free of charge, be part of the decision-making processes, interview with the unions, and more. She specifically focuses on infant mortality issues, how to reduce teen pregnancies, and she communicates with other countries regarding exchange of information and statistics, including the countries of Panama, Colombia, Uruguay, Paraguay, and India.
Our second lesson explored Argentinian social security, which is the most important system. It has been governed by laws since 1988, and is the only mandatory sector. ARCA (Customs Revenue and Control Administration) collects money every month and sends 85% to insurance agents to distribute. There are over 300 agents, with 20 of those being private, and they have a responsibility by law to allocate these funds. The remaining 15% goes to FSR (Solidarity Redistribution Fund) for administrative expenses, subsidies, and disability benefits and integration.
Then, we split off for lunch, and Alaina found us the cutest spot! I ended up ordering the pasta salad and a red velvet cookie. It tasted so amazing, but rated the meal an 8/10 because they skimped on the pasta a bit. After lunch, we went back to the Austral building to do a project workshop. Our group had the opportunity to meet together to discuss our topic: the private healthcare system in Argentina. We split up the work, and I will be presenting about the major players in private healthcare, including the Austral Hospital, Sanatorio Mater Dei Hospital, Tomas Reggio Clinic, and the Bazterrica Clinic. I plan to include pictures and talk briefly about our experience at each unique location.
Federalism in Argentina is the division of power between a national government and a provincial government. This has a significant impact on the way in which resources and money are allocated within the country. For example, our first speaker discussed her role in the Ministry of Health, mentioning that she must ask each province individually in order to collect their healthcare data. The Ministry of Health is a national organization that creates national regulations and oversees the policies, but each province has their own different government and collects their own healthcare data. Some provinces, such as those in the north, do not like to share their info because some of the statistics are not as healthy as they should be, so they may send false information that skews data. Further, some provinces do not date birth certificates on the actual day the child was born, having their own timeframe for collecting and uploading information. Also, private institutions often give very little information rather than sharing. The system is very complicated, which is a main theme of this overall trip.
To close the night, we attended a tango show! It was so much fun!
