An 80-year-old lawyer from La Plata has filed an injunction in the Civil and Commercial Court No. 21 of La Plata, alleging that he must choose between receiving his pension and maintaining his medical coverage. As learned from the Argentine News Agency, the situation is critical for thousands of retired professionals: while the basic pension is around $800,000, the cost of social health insurance exceeds $700,000, which absorbs almost the entire pension income. The end of intergenerational solidarity. Historically, the Fund subsidized 100% of the assistance fee, but since July 2023, a progressive reduction began, which culminated in October of this year with the total elimination of the benefit. Impact on the pocket: the plaintiff reconstructed that his real pocket income fell from $650,000 in September to just over $80,000 in October and November. According to the lawsuit, many beneficiaries—especially pensioners—are forced to put money out of their own pocket not to be left unprotected, as the cost of health exceeds the amount of the benefit they receive. The decision of the Social Security Fund for Lawyers of the Province of Buenos Aires to eliminate the subsidy for social health insurance (CASA) for retirees and pensioners led to the first significant judicial conflict. In December, after paying the fee, he received only $60,000. The judicial claim: the lawyer Marcelo Szelagowski, patron of the retiree, qualified the measure as a "true shame" and questioned the spirit of mandatory membership in the face of such lack of protection. Current situation: Judge Héctor Luján Iacomini rejected an initial precautionary measure to suspend the collection, but referred the case to the Lawyers' Fund to justify the measure within a period of five days. A system in crisis. The measure affects a universe of 2,473 retirees and pensioners.
