Private clinics in Argentina suspend PAMI services

Private clinics and sanatoriums in the Argentine provinces of La Pampa, Neuquén, Río Negro, and Chubut suspended services for PAMI affiliates for 24 hours on Monday. The strike affects approximately 300,000 retirees and pensioners. While emergency care and hospitalized patients remained attended, scheduled consultations, surgeries, and diagnostic studies were suspended.

Providers claim a severe discrepancy between PAMI's reimbursement rates and the rising costs of medical supplies and services. According to clinic owners, while health service costs have increased by 341%, PAMI's updates have only reached 143%. They noted that since the current administration took office, the real value of fees has dropped by 75%.

Medical directors warned that an upcoming 6% increase in October is insufficient to cover basic operational costs. There are concerns that if private providers continue to restrict services, the increased demand could saturate and collapse the public healthcare system.