The Government of Salta made it official to charge foreigners for health care - Infobae
Source:
El Gobierno de Salta oficializó el cobro de la atención sanitaria a extranjeros
La medida fue establecida por un DNU y abarcará a los residentes transitorios y precarios. No se negará el acceso a la salud en caso de urgencias
www.infobae.com
February 28, 2024
The measure was established by a DNU and will cover temporary and precarious residents. Access to health will not be denied in case of emergencies
By Federica Fontana
The government of Salta will charge for care of transitory and precarious residents
After days of analyzing the implementation of the measure , the Government of Salta decided to charge health care to foreigners in the province. The measure was made official through a Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU) and contemplates emergencies as an exception , which will continue to be guaranteed .
According to National Immigration Law 25871, there are four categories of residents into which foreigners are grouped: permanent, temporary, transitory and precarious residents. In this case, after the publication of DNU 129 , temporary and precarious residents must contribute and cover the expenses generated by their care in provincial health centers, regardless of whether they do so on their own or through health insurance.
“The provincial State will subsequently arbitrate the necessary means to collect the expenses incurred,” the Salta government stated through its website.
According to the explanation provided by the spokespersons of Gustavo Sáenz 's government to Télam , "the measure seeks to guarantee the solvency of the Salta public health system." However, they highlighted that urgent cases in which health “cannot be denied or restricted” are not under discussion since it is “a humanitarian issue . ”
From the provincial Executive, they based their decision on the high levels of inflation that affects the entire country and that increases the price of health supplies, as well as on the cut of national transfers and a decrease in their collection. For this reason, the Sáenz Government considered it necessary to adopt measures to efficiently rationalize the resources available, as specified in a statement published on the Province's website.
Through a DNU, the government of Salta will begin to charge foreigners for health care
In addition, they emphasized the “particular geographical position of the Province” which, as it borders three countries, causes many foreigners to enter Salta to undergo treatments that, in many cases, are prolonged. In this sense, they mentioned the “health tours” that are organized from other countries to assist and access the local health system.
Regarding this last point, they detailed that these are mostly high-cost procedures as well as surgeries, cesarean sections, among others that are not circumstantial but scheduled. In this way, the objective of the decision is to “protect the sustainability and proper functioning of the public health system”, in the face of this problem that is experienced every day in health centers throughout the province.
However, the measure will not reach those who are permanent or temporary residents, since they will continue to receive health care equally to nationals, as clarified by the Salta Government.
As established in the decree, the governor ordered that the enforcement authority be the Ministry of Health of the province, so it will be the body that carries out all the necessary actions and regulations. Another of their responsibilities will be to set the fees for each of the benefits. Finally, they indicated that you must also keep the treatment amounts updated and inform people who require it.
Federico Mangione, Minister of Health of Salta, spoke about the tariffing of the health system for foreigners
Prior to the DNU, the provincial Minister of Health, Federico Mangione , referred to this situation and stated that people cross from Bolivia to seek care and receive the dengue vaccine after the increase in cases in their country. “We are taking measures where the priority is the people of Salta and we are also going to impose a charging system for foreign patients because they are using our supplies and we do not have reciprocity,” he explained days ago.
On that occasion, he related: “I was the manager of the Maternal and Child Hospital and we have received cancer patients from Bolivia because the doctors there told them that they were not going to do the treatment and recommended that they travel to Argentina because it was free here. ”.
