The Argentine government officially announced the dissolution of the Social Health Institute of the Armed Forces and Security (IOSFA) and the creation of two new, differentiated health systems. This measure, formalized by decree, is presented as an attempt to contain the financial and operational collapse of the healthcare system that assists military and federal security forces. This decision was adopted in a context of an emergency, with an audited liability of around 200 billion pesos and a scheme considered unviable by the government itself, which attributed the collapse to irregularities in previous administrations and a structural imbalance that affected care for more than 500,000 beneficiaries nationwide. According to the regulations, the Armed Forces Social Health Service (OSFA) will operate under the orbit of the Ministry of Defense, while the Federal Security Forces Social Health Service (OSFFESEG) will fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Security, providing specific coverage to forces such as the National Gendarmerie and the Argentine Naval Prefecture. However, different technical, union, and military analyses warn that the restructuring is destined to fail if the structural factor that triggered the crisis is not addressed: the meager salaries received by personnel of the Armed Forces and Security Forces. Both entities were constituted as autonomous entities, with their own legal personality and a rigid financing scheme that allocates 80% of income to medical-assistance benefits, up to 8% to administrative expenses and up to 12% to other social benefits, as long as health coverage is guaranteed. The government also established technical suitability requirements for the members of the boards of directors and a permanent control regime in charge of the General Audit Office of the Nation (SIGEN), with the objective of avoiding the repetition of the diversions and governance failures that characterized the final stage of IOSFA. However, behind the administrative redesign lies a problem that the decree does not solve. The combination of low salaries and the loss of effective health coverage drove the departure of specialized personnel and weakened the system's base of contributors, further aggravating the financial imbalance. In this context, union sectors and sources from the military sphere warn that the creation of OSFA and OSFFESEG could reproduce the same problems that led to the collapse of IOSFA if the State does not simultaneously advance with a salary policy that guarantees sufficient income to sustain the system. The combination of depressed salaries, inflation, and the rising cost of benefits resulted in a chronic deficit that ultimately led IOSFA to a state of virtual bankruptcy.
