Health Emergency

The main aspects of Law No. 27,541 of Social Solidarity and Productive Reactivation within the framework of Public Emergency include the following matters:

• Health Emergency: A Health Emergency is declared and the Argentine Executive (the “PEN”, after its Spanish acronym)is delegating the possibility of: (i) ensuring the supply of medicines for outpatient treatments of patients in highly vulnerable social conditions, access to medicines and supplies for the prevention of and treatment of non-transmissible infectious and chronic diseases; (ii) ensuring effective compliance with the law on the control of diseases that are prevented by vaccine; and (iii) ensuring that beneficiaries of the National Institute of Social Security for Retired Persons and Pensioners (“INSSJP-PAMI” after its acronym in Spanish) and the National Health Insurance System have access to essential medical assistance provisions.
• PAIS Tax Exemption:  All those expenses related to health benefits and purchase of medicines are exempted from the Tax for an Inclusive and Supportive Argentina (the “PAIS” after its acronym in Spanish) (art. 36, subsection a).
• Ministry of Health Programs: The priority provided for the Ministry of Health Programs, established by Article 1 of Decree No. 450/02, replaced by Decree No. 1053/02 and those that supersede them in the future for the year 2020 is maintained (art. 64).
• Creation of: (i) National Health Advisory Council for the identification, formulation, implementation and evaluation of actions aimed at alleviating basic health care needs, (ii) the Argentine Health Plan within the scope of the Argentine Health Council that promotes equity access and quality in healthcare for the population and the integration of the subsystems, and (iii) Inter-ministerial Commission comprised of representatives from the Ministries of Health, Economy and Productive Development, the National Institute of Social Security for Retired Persons and Pensioners and the Argentine Tax Authority (the “AFIP” after its Spanish acronym), whose mission will be to analyze the impact of the sectorial tax and fiscal burden to promote access to health goods and services (articles 67, 68 y 69).
• Exemption from import duties: Vaccines and disposable items imported by the Ministry of Health and/or the PAHO Revolving Fund are exempted from import duties and any other customs or port taxes or tariffs, as well as from the requirement to set up an import deposit (art. 73). 
• National “Remediar” Program: The objective of universal access to essential medicines through the National “Remediar” Program is restored (art. 76).
• Public healthcare insurance providers’ freedom of contract. Suspends the restrictions set forth in articles 5 and 7 of decree 9/1993 that limit public healthcare insurance providers’ freedom to contract with entities that have direct or indirect jurisdiction over the control of professional license or limit the right to contract directly to their members (art. 78).
• Suspension of Enforced Budget Implementations. Until December 31, 2020 forced implementations of credits and precautionary measures held by the Argentine State and the Argentine Tax Authority (the “AFIP,” after its Spanish acronym) against public or private hospitalization, diagnosis and treatment healthcare facilities registered in the National Registry of Providers of the Superintendence of Healthcare Services (the “SSS”, after its acronym in Spanish), as well as against geriatric and rehabilitation facilities providing the PAMI are suspended (articles 79 and 82).
• Faculties granted to the Ministry of Health: (i) To establish a mechanism for monitoring the prices of medicines and supplies in the health sector and alternatives for direct imports and compulsory or compulsory licenses in the event of possible problems of availability or unjustified price increases affecting the population's access to them; (ii) To issue supplementary legislation to implement: (a) list of medicines and supplies to be acquired by the INSSJP-PAMI and the Superintendence of Health Services, (b) reference prices of supplies and essential medicines by therapeutic band and (c) controls and devices that promote the validity of the Law No. 25,649 –Law on Generic Drugs- and (iii) May opt for the agreements made in the framework of the health emergency by any of the following modalities (a) direct contracting mechanism (article 25, paragraph 5 of Decree No. 1023/2001); (b) use of resources from the PAHO/WHO Regional Revolving Fund for Strategic Public Health Supplies; and (c) other means offering alternatives through international organizations, multilateral agencies, non-governmental organizations or other countries (articles 70 and 71).
• Suspension: The provisions of Decrees Nos. 446/00, 1140/00 and 1350/00 (right of beneficiaries of the National Health Insurance System to choose between a social security scheme or an entity whose purpose is to provide health services under the National Health Insurance System) must be suspended for the duration of the health emergency in all matters that are contrary to this law (art. 84).