La Derecha Diario Changes in Health: Milei centralizes hospitals and eliminates three inactive entities
The health department admits that a reduction in contracted personnel is being planned
In a new move to reorganize the national healthcare system, Javier Milei's government officially announced on Tuesday the creation of the National Administration of Health Establishments (ANES), a decentralized agency that will centralize the management of five national hospitals.
At the same time, three health institutes were eliminated as part of the National Hospitals Efficiency Plan.
Which hospitals will fall under ANES's jurisdiction
The new entity, which will be led by Diego Masaragian, current national director of Hospitals, will be responsible for the administrative, financial, and legal management of the following centers:
- Baldomero Sommer Hospital
- Alejandro Posadas Hospital
- Ramón Carrillo Hospital
- Laura Bonaparte Hospital
- Southern Psychophysical Rehabilitation Institute
Each will maintain its Executive Medical Directorate, respecting its specialization and operational structure, but will now depend on a unified administration.
Dissolution of institutes and changes in the healthcare organizational chart
Together with the creation of ANES, the Executive eliminated the National Cancer Institute (INC) -absorbed as a technical unit within the Ministry of Health-, the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (INEC), and the National Institute of Tropical Medicine (INMET). The latter was absorbed by the Malbrán Institute, where it was already carrying out most of its activities.
In addition, the Federal Health Delegations were eliminated and the Executive's authority to create new SAMIC hospitals (such as Garrahan, El Cruce, Cuenca Alta, and others) was repealed. These will continue to operate under their current co-management schemes between the Nation and the provinces.
Why ANES is being created: oversight of bidding processes and reduction of overpricing
Sources from the Ministry of Health justified to Infobae the creation of ANES due to "serious irregularities detected in purchases, services, and bidding processes" through internal audits. A notable case was a purchase of omeprazole at a price 400 times higher than its value in pharmacies.
The goal now is to concentrate bidding processes and purchases for the five hospitals, which will allow for:
- Improving bargaining power through volume
- Using reference prices based on lists such as Kairos or laboratory starting prices
- Avoiding unnecessary logistical intermediaries by using the Ministry's own resources
- Controlling outsourced services such as cleaning, security, and food service with a single bidding process
Reduction of staff and use of technology
The health department acknowledges that a reduction in contracted staff is planned, especially in areas such as security, where the aim is to implement technology and automated alarm systems.
"Each hospital had an overload of staff," a government source explained.
Unification without new structures
The Executive emphasized that ANES doesn't entail the creation of new entities, but rather a merger of pre-existing structures, with the goal of reducing costs and normalizing the processes for acquiring goods and services.
An official statement summarized it as follows: "Resources are limited and efficiency in their use has become imperative. The opposite would imply a violation of the essential rights of the population and taxpayers."
More posts: