Argentina Supreme Court limits coverage of imported cystic fibrosis drug

Argentina's Supreme Court ruled that prepaid health insurers are not required to fund imported high‑cost medicines when an authorized domestic alternative exists. The judges Horacio Rosatti, Ricardo Lorenzetti and Carlos Rosenkrantz upheld a petition by OSDE, overturning lower‑court orders that had mandated coverage of the imported drug Trikafta for cystic fibrosis. The Court accepted the insurer’s offer of Trixacar, a locally produced medication with the same therapeutic effect, noting that no technical objections were raised by ANMAT or forensic experts and that the patient’s health had not deteriorated after switching.

The precedent establishes a new criterion for future disputes over costly treatments, highlighting the lack of a national health‑technology assessment agency and the growing judicialisation of Argentina’s health system.