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Paper short abstract

This paper examines the rapid growth of household indebtedness linked to healthcare access in Argentina under the Milei administration. It analyses how radical neoliberal reforms, within and beyond the health system, shift healthcare costs onto households, generating new forms of health-related debt

Paper long abstract

The self-described “anarcho-capitalist” administration of Javier Milei in Argentina represents an extreme expression of a broader global trend toward the radicalisation of neoliberalism. Since late 2023, this agenda has had profound effects on health policy, combining draconian austerity with regulatory reforms that have accelerated the marketisation and commercialisation of healthcare, while simultaneously undermining key social determinants of health.

Argentina’s healthcare system consists of three interrelated subsystems, all severely affected by these reforms: the public health sector has faced dismantling and underfunding; the social health insurance subsystem, linked to formal employment, has been weakened by labour deregulation and declining contributions; and the private health insurance sector has been deregulated, enabling sharp premium increases well above inflation. These changes have been compounded by a dramatic rise in the price of medicines.

Together, these transformations have shifted healthcare costs away from public and solidarity-based arrangements onto individuals and households. As a result, many households increasingly rely on debt to access treatments, medicines and diagnostic services. Household indebtedness should therefore be understood as a political and structural issue, rather than a merely private one, as it reflects and reinforces constraints on the effective enjoyment of the right to health.

While official statistics show dramatic rising household indebtedness, little is known about the specific role of healthcare-related expenses. This paper addresses this gap through an empirically grounded analysis based on policy analysis, official data, human rights reports and qualitative interviews. It contributes to debates on health-related debt in the Global South under radical neoliberal reform.