Aging and Challenges for the Argentine Health Care System

DANIEL MACEIRA

As time goes by in Argentina : economic opportunities and challenges of the demographic transition

World Bank

Año: 2015; p. 137 - 172

The impact of aging on the health care system is a classic topic of discussion in the health sector that has regained some of its vigor in recent years. This debate includes three key elements that exert pressure on the health care model and are relevant to Argentine society. They are connected to both the country´s relative success in caring for its population´s health -with the resulting impact on the epidemiological profile- as well as external factors that require that additional resources be allocated to the sector. The first of these key elements is a demographic environment in a country with improved living conditions. The population pyramid´s slide, age group by age group, toward an older society is driven by a longer life expectancy at birth and a drop in the fertility rate, both characteristic of more developed nations. The second element is associated with the epidemiological transition. Developing countries move beyond mortality profiles linked to infectious diseases to make room for cardiac problems and tumor-related ailments. On many occasions, unequal income distribution leads to the coexistence of both scenarios, a phenomenon known as epidemiological accumulation.Finally, the third factor involves the need for greater resources to be investedin the health care sector: Constant technological change in diagnostics and treatments, preventative medicine, and the development of new drugs increase the quality of life and the ability to fight illnesses, with an impact on the financial mechanisms for health care coverage. The demand phenomenon encouraged by the health care system itself pushes the trend in the same direction, promoting increased spending. Looking beyond the relative weight of each of these factors and the interactions between them, it is evident that the health care system, even as it implements efficient and equitable prioritization mechanisms and effective resource use, envisages a horizon of growing needs for funding and organization in the system. These requirements will generate a public policy debate, not just throughout the life cycle, but also across generations. Argentina spends approximately US$1,200 per person per year to fund health care, making it one of the highest-spending middle-income countries for this sector. Evaluating the achievements and the coming challenges from a population-aging point of view means that we must review some of the health care system´s strengths and identify characteristics to keep in mind in any future action plan. The analysis of such challenges is reflected not just in the tensions normally found in terms of the fragmentation of the insurance system, the existence of inequality in access to certain treatments, and differences among social groups and provinces. There is also a need to discuss the presence of new sectorial demands now and in the future to plan initiatives that facilitate a systematic approach to deal with them. All of these arguments are challenges for social coverage policies in health care in that they identify and reveal new needs. These needs are not only pertinent in terms of entitlement to access to health care, promotion, prevention, and care, but also because they require that mechanisms to prioritize health care actions be coherent and rational. Integrating these new topics into the health care system will present a challenge to the system´s financial capacity. El libro también presenta una versión en español que no tiene ISBN.