An expat guide to healthcare and health insurance in Argentina

The National Health Insurance Administration (La Administración Nacional del Seguro de Salud) offers cover for health, pensions/retirement, disability, death (for relatives) and unemployment benefits. Accidents at work and occupational diseases are managed by the superintendencia de riesgos del trabajo (SRT).

Argentina is a federal republic and the health system is decentralized, meaning public health is administered at a municipal level. Primary health care is often independently managed by each city.

There are three sectors of health care in Argentina:

• The public sector: Provides free or highly subsidised health services to around 50% of people in Argentina, including both nationals and foreigners. Medical, hospital, dental and palliative care, rehabilitation, prosthetics and medical transport are free of charge. The only charges are for prescriptions, and pharmacies require prescriptions for most medication. There is a 30% cost participation for chronic conditions, and a 60% cost participation for everyday prescriptions. However, long waiting lists mean that a large percentage of Argentina’s population chooses other sectors for their health care.
• Social security (obras sociales – OS): Financed by fixed fee contributions from employers and employees, these health insurance schemes are managed by trade unions and are the most common form of health insurance in the country. The schemes are overseen by the national health insurance administration, but health care is outsourced to private providers. Obras sociales schemes must guarantee minimum medical coverage such as preventative, diagnostic, medical and dental treatment, maternity, etc. The patient covers the difference in cost between the fixed fee and the cost of treatment. Additionally, and importantly, OS schemes cannot exclude pre-existing medical conditions.
• Private sector: These are like classic private insurance policies which anyone can choose to subscribe to. Around 5% of the population opts for private health insurance. Private insurance must cover the same mandatory benefits as the OS.

To note: General practitioners practice in public hospitals, so there are no public GP offices or centres in Argentina. To consult in a practice, patients must make an appointment with a private physician.

Quality of health care
Health services in Argentina are considered among the best in Latin America. In Buenos Aires and other major cities like Córdoba or Mendoza, hospitals and clinics are of an excellent standard with competent medical staff. However, elsewhere in the country, especially in the poorer north, the quality of care may vary and some facilities may lack medical equipment or staff.

Private health insurance in Argentina
Although the public health system is free and of good quality, waiting lists for appointments and treatment can be long in the public sector. For this reason, many expatriates choose private health insurance.

Argentinian health insurance is very localised, meaning that a local insurance policy may not be valid in other countries and even other cities of Argentina. Therefore, international insurance is usually better suited to an expatriate rather than a local insurance.

If you are travelling in remote areas, it is highly recommended to have health insurance including evacuation, as some regions may be very far from the nearest hospital. In the event of an accident, the evacuation assistance will take care of transportation to a health care facility able to treat you.