Adolfo Rubinstein: "It's not fair that we, the Argentines, take care of the health care of Bolivians"

"It is not fair that we Argentines pay with our taxes the attention of non-resident Bolivians who come to Argentina to attend because health is not free here, nobody gives it and we pay with our taxes ", in a tone almost cordial but firm, the secretary for health Adolfo Rubinstein It is clear that the government is very keen that the administration of Evo Morales immediately reach a mutual agreement on health care.

Rubientein is tired. He arrived last night from a lightning trip to Santa Cruz de la Sierra, where he agreed with the Bolivian authorities that a reciprocal health agreement would be reached within six months. "We hope that they comply," says the state secretary for health in dialogue with Infobae the second floor of the Department of Social Development.

And he immediately attacked: "We spend almost 10% of our GDP on health and what we have as a result is not commensurate with the scale of this effort." We are one of the highest expenditures in Latin America, that there is no position of xenophobia but of justice for all ".

– What was raised during the meeting with the Vice Chancellor and the Minister of Health of Bolivia to reach a reciprocal agreement on health issues?

-We suggest that Bolivian citizens pay for health care because there is no free health care system. In Bolivia, there was a system that was not universal. It was for the elderly, minors and pregnant women, but not for everyone. As of March 1st, a law will apply to all health services for all with a portfolio of about 1,200 benefits. This will include the inclusion of foreign residents and, according to the health authorities, would also include non-resident foreign citizens, which would be the case of Vilca. [el músico que tuvo que pagar 20.000 dólares para ser atendido en un hospital de Bolivia] . That's what it says. Then, it will be necessary to see if it is concrete.

– It was agreed that a reciprocal agreement will be signed in April?

– Six months has been agreed to terminate this agreement. At this point, it is important to pay attention to foreigners who do not live in either country. The second question is to see how the benefits will be offset. The problem is that, as governor of Jujuy Gerardo Morales said, his province paid 160 million pesos last year to serve non-resident Bolivians from Jujuy in four hospitals. And there were no expenses included in primary care. But there are also the problems we have here in the capital or in big cities with non-resident foreign citizens and we treat them equally. The question is, how are we going to finance them? Health is not free. The fact that you do not pay directly from your pocket does not imply that it is not free. We pay all with our taxes.

– What security is there for Bolivia to respect an agreement?

-No security. Yesterday there was a change in attitude. Until now, they have not listened to us. Less than a year ago, there was a conflict in Jujuy and now in the Vilca case, this conflict has been overtaken and the media and society are exerting strong pressure to ask why the health of foreigners must be maintained. The problem is that, very often, foreigners who do not live here and are treated free in Argentina, which is really unfair.

– What will happen then if Bolivia does not fulfill its mandate?

-Jujuy promulgated a law requiring the payment of benefits to non-resident foreigners. I think that Jujuy is willing to solve the fundamental problem with Bolivia and for that we will seek a viable solution that allows fairness and justice. Nor is it right that we pay with our taxes the health of foreigners. All of this is precedent, and the problem is that we need to make sure that our country's health care system is sincere. We spend almost 10% of our GDP on health and this is not because the results are consistent with the scale of this effort. They represent one of the highest expenses in Latin America.

-How many non-resident aliens are served in Argentina?

-What we did not estimate. But for example in Jujuy, this corresponds to something more than 7% of the population. This is a very high expense that one has to face.

– Are there other countries with reciprocal health agreements?

– With Chile, we have a reciprocity agreement for emergency aid. With Paraguay and Uruguay, there is no agreement. Bolivia says that now that the universal health system is in place, it is likely that the number of Bolivians arriving in Argentina will be reduced. But we do not know it. It is an expression of desires.

– Can the Argentine Government's proposal appear to be xenophobic?

-C is the complex since it is an immigrant country and has been receptive to immigrants. We have a very lax residence policy. We are very open. The problem concerns those who do not live in Argentina and do not come to Argentina. It's unfair.

-Change the question, will the government allow the debate on abortion in Congress this year?

-The debate is already activated. There is an independent badessment of what the government says. I do not think the question is very much ahead this year because the majorities have not changed. Maybe next year will advance with other majorities.

– Will prevention policies be followed?

-The government is making great progress in prevention and badual education. There are provinces where there are huge hurdles, and it has to be said. But we are working hard to stop the huge alarming numbers of badual abuse.