The legislator Juan Martin, from Rio Negro, the only representative of the Together for Change bloc in Parliament, presented a bill so that non-resident foreigners in Argentina must cover the costs in case of using Health from the province. He said the intention is to balance the balance between rights and responsibilities.
The initiative was presented following several cases were known of Argentines who were denied or tried to charge for health care in neighboring countries, including the case of a teacher from Río Negro who suffered a stroke in Bolivia and was charged 200 thousand pesos per day of hospitalization. The woman had to be transferred to Salta, where she continues to be hospitalized.
“What we are looking for is truly equal access to health, not only in terms of rights but also of responsibilities,” explained Juan Martin. He explained that “the public health system is supported by our taxes, so it is fair that those who do not contribute in Argentina must pay or have insurance to be treated in our hospitals.”
The parliamentarian indicated that the economic situation of the country and the province does not allow “to go around giving away anything” and considered that it is necessary to have the responsibility of taking care of the resources of the hospitals, “which belong to everyone.”
“The current system, in addition to being unfair, lends itself to abuses such as the fact that a citizen from another country can come to be treated on a scheduled basis,” he commented.
“The logical thing would be that to enter the country you ask for health insurance, as happens in other parts of the world,” stressed the legislator, although he explained that “this must be decided by the National Government, so we make this proposal limited to the territory Rio Negro”.
Martin also pointed out that “the project clearly states that in an emergency no one will be denied care in hospitals, but later the province’s Ministry of Health will have to take care of charging the person or to the government of their country of origin.
