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Bolivia asked Salta to stop charging its citizens for medical care, but the province rejected it - Infobae
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Bolivia le pidió a Salta que deje de cobrar la atención médica a sus ciudadanos, pero la provincia lo rechazó
Autoridades del consulado se lo plantearon a un funcionario salteño, argumentando que reciben quejas de sus compatriotas por los nuevos aranceles
www.infobae.com
September 09, 2024
Consulate authorities raised the issue with a Salta official, arguing that they receive complaints from their compatriots about the new tariffs.
Bolivia le pidió a Salta que deje de cobrar la atención médica a sus ciudadanos, pero la provincia lo rechazó
Imágenes de la reunión que tuvo lugar en el hospital de Orán
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Images from the meeting that took place at the Oran hospital
The province of Salta firmly maintains its decision to charge foreign citizens for medical care in hospitals. This measure was first promoted by a decree of Governor Gustavo Saenz and then ratified by the local Legislature. In this context, the manager of the San Vicente de Paul Hospital, Fabián Valenzuela , received a proposal from the Bolivian consul , Felipa Huanca , exploring the possibility of signing new agreements to revise the measure. The official, however, said that the request had no chance of success.
"I told her that a request of that nature was out of place, it's as if I were asking her not to comply with the law in her country," Valenzuela said in response to a question from Infobae .
The meeting took place on August 13, after a request for a meeting was made by the authorities of the consulate. “They proposed to me the intention of making new agreements so that there is a differential tariff for Bolivians, because they receive many complaints from their compatriots about the application of the charge, which is recent,” said Valenzuela.
Faced with this, the official recommended that they make the claim to their own state, governed by President Luis Arce. “ I told them that what they could do was ask for a budget to cover the costs from the consulate .”
"The tariffs were applied by a provincial law, 8.421, and we can do nothing other than apply it," the official insisted.
According to data from the Ministry of Health of Salta, attendance dropped significantly after the measure was implemented. Valenzuela himself indicated that in the hospital he is in charge they went from serving 300 people per week to having an average of 5. “There are days when no one comes,” he stressed.
The charge for care is applied to specific treatments, consultations with specialists and surgical procedures. In the case of emergencies where people's lives are at risk, the service remains free.
In this context, the mayor's office of Orán, in one of the departments that border the neighboring country, reported that so far this year the health area has saved 60 million pesos from the measure implemented, only in that jurisdiction. "As long as the measure is in force, we have no other alternative than to enforce the law," said the head of the Orán hospital.
Tariffs for foreigners in Salta
The decision to move forward with the application of fees for foreigners began in April. At that time, the list published by the local government was as follows:- $100,000 per day of hospitalization
- $190,000 for hospitalization in intermediate wards
- $250,000 for intensive care admission
- $245,000 per birth
- $250,000 for neonatal therapy hospitalization
Facade of the San Bernardo Hospital, in Salta Capital. The province has been charging for foreigners since March (Government of Salta)
"The meeting with the Bolivian authorities was cordial, there was no pressure or threat , but there was concern expressed, and we communicated that the proposal was wrong," Valenzuela insisted.
Before the law was passed by the legislators of Salta, both Salta and the province of Jujuy had signed reciprocity agreements with the Bolivian government in order to maintain free care in Argentine hospitals without distinction of nationality in exchange for Argentines receiving the same treatment in the neighboring country.
However, the repetition of cases in which Argentine citizens lost their lives in Bolivia after being rejected by hospitals in that country in emergency situations, made local governments review their position. That was the main argument put forward by Sáenz when promoting the decision.
“Here in Salta and in Argentina we have very good public health. That is why I do not like it when people talk about reciprocity with our neighbouring country, because no person from Salta or Argentina goes to Bolivia to get treatment. There they charge you for absolutely everything, in fact patients have died at the hospital door because they have not wanted to treat them,” said the Minister of Health of Salta, Federico Mangione .
