Argentina's PAMI health institute faces leadership vacuum as director and subdirector resign

The executive director of the Public Health Insurance Institute for retirees (PAMI), Esteban Leguizamo, and his deputy Carlos Zamparolo submitted their resignations amid a deepening internal crisis. The Ministry of Health declined to accept the resignations, and presidential secretary general Karina Milei ordered a postponement of any personnel changes, leaving the institute without formal leadership.

PAMI is grappling with widespread operational paralysis, a low‑take‑up voluntary retirement scheme, reduced managerial structures, and mounting debts exceeding 500 billion Argentine pesos owed to clinics, pharmacies and doctors. Tensions with providers and the Ministry of Economy have intensified. General auditor María Florencia Zicavo, appointed in April 2026, has emerged as a key figure in day‑to‑day operations, filling part of the leadership gap.

The resignations occur as the institute, which serves over five million retirees, faces mounting pressure to maintain health services while political actors contest control of the organization.