05/06/2024. Pointing out that since she had a residence in Jujuy, the UNSA student was given an invoice for more than 300 thousand pesos. The family maintained that they were never informed of the resolution regarding the collection of patients from other provinces
In order to recover between 5 and 10% of the annual public health budget, the governor of Salta Gustavo Sáenz ordered the charging of medical care to all foreigners, although the measure also seems to extend to those who live in other Argentine provinces. and this is what happened to a student from Abra Pampa, who was asked to pay about 300 thousand pesos for having undergone emergency surgery.
The incident occurred on April 28, when the young woman showed up at the San Bernardo public hospital after experiencing severe stomach pains. Accompanied by her sister, the student from UNSA – National University of Salta – she had to undergo emergency surgery. The next day, the young woman had to undergo surgery again, according to what the medical team told her, she had a rare case of intestinal growth, causing it to become tangled and at the same time, causing pain.
The care of the young woman from Abra Pampa included studies, analyzes and x-rays, for which the medical unit sought to charge for said service.
According to family members, Abra Pampa’s Diarythe person responsible for finances at the San Bernardo Hospital presented himself with a receipt for a sum of more than 300 thousand pesos, arguing that since he was domiciled in Jujuy he had to pay said amount, due to a resolution.
In that sense, the student’s family explained that at no time were they informed of the regulations regarding charging people from other provinces.
On this point, it is worth mentioning DNU 129, which became law, where the payment of medical care to foreigners was established. Thus, the regulations establish 4 categories of patients: permanent, temporary, transitory and precarious residents. It is these last two categories that the Salta government charges for care.
In any case, the law only establishes the charge for people who do not live in the country, so it does not apply to what happened to the young woman from Jujuy, even though she does not have a home in Salta, where she lives temporarily for her studies in the university.
Faced with this, the family pointed out that the hospital authorities were never able to account for the resolution on which the payment for the medical care that the young woman received in the hospital would be based.
It should be noted that the province’s Ministry of Health is the enforcement authority of the law that establishes charging foreigners for the use of the public health system.
So far, his Jujuy counterpart, Gustavo Bouhid has not expressed himself on the issue, although he already promises some crossovers. In 2019, Gerardo Morales tried to apply the same measure after it became known that the musician Manuel Vilca, who had suffered an accident in Bolivia , he was charged for medical care. From that moment on, the governor urged Bolivians to pay for medical care, a situation that escalated into friction with the authorities of the neighboring country, pointing out that the musician had been mistreated, a version that was later denied by the Minister of Health. from Bolivia, Gabriela Montaño.
Source: Abra Pampa Diary
