The health crisis, associated with the inflationary context, also reached nursing homes and their residents for whom, in a short time,
the fee increased and even doubled
.
The prepaid companies that, in some cases, cover part of the service for their chronic patients, say that they have been complying with the updates and that, during 2023, their contributions even exceeded the increase in average fees in nursing homes.
However, the relatives of the people who live in these places feel the rise, it complicates them and, according to what they tell
Clarín
, they are
looking for a way to avoid having to move them
.
Eleonora has her 85-year-old mother living in a nursing home located in Belgrano since last year.
“It was a decision we made with my sisters and
today we see that she is much better
,” she tells this newspaper.
After the presentation of a
precautionary measure
, they managed to get the prepaid company to take care of about half of the monthly value of the residence, while they covered the rest with savings.
According to him, the situation is becoming more and more complex.
"The fee increases, since December the jumps are 20% monthly, and the prepaid does not update at the same rate, which means that each time we have to take care of a higher percentage," he warns and details that
the nursing home costs more than a million pesos per month
.
“It was difficult for us to find a good place, so we have no plans to remove it or change it despite the difficult economic situation,” adds Eleonora.
The geriatric fee, like many other prices, does not stop rising.
Photo: Luciano Thieberger
Diana faces a similar panorama with her mother.
“The nursing home has been increasing every month for half a year.
The fixed fee goes up and so does the extras (diapers and medicines).
Three months ago I paid 380 thousand, two months ago they charged me 420 thousand and
now I received 500 thousand
,” says Diana, who highlights that it is difficult to maintain those numbers in a particular way.
“I am worried, she is retired and pensioned but what she earns is not enough.
We are contributing with my brother but
he gets worse every time
,” she says.
He evaluated the possibility of removing her from the nursing home, but her mother is 88 years old, has significant dementia and is very adapted to the place, where she has lived for 7 years.
“As long as we can avoid the change, we are going to do it, and the service is good,” she confirms about the residence that remains in Villa Urquiza.
The increase in fees also affected Fernando, who has his mother living in a nursing home in Caballito.
“It was always
an institution of moderate values
, with shared rooms and no luxuries of any kind.
Until October the quota was 400 thousand, but from then on it began to increase a lot and now they have warned that by February there will be almost 800 thousand.
It doubled in 4 months!
”, he laments.
And he explains that his mother's pension “increased much less, it is still well below 300 thousand.”
For Eugenio Semino, defender of the Elderly, the situation with the increase in nursing homes
“is desperate
. ”
“People who cannot access it privately have to wait months for the PAMI to pay it in,” he points out and says that, in this scenario of crisis and inflation, “there are families, stacks of families, who cannot pay more and are
evaluating the possibility of removing your loved one from the nursing home
in which he or she is located.”
The patient, says Semino, “has his
substitute family
in the residence : companions, caregivers, doctors.
It is very traumatic
for him to lose that place
.”
Quotas skyrocketed due to a lack of price regulation.
Photo: Luciano Thieberger
“The issue is that there is no price regulation in nursing homes.
The prepaid contributions are not enough or are outdated and, at the same time,
more and more people are joining the PAMI waiting list
because they can no longer pay for a private one,” he maintains.
He comments that the most important prepaid plans usually cover
a fee of between 650 and 750 thousand pesos
, depending on the complexity of the patient, when the average fee today reaches one million pesos.
Regarding whether there are more people on the waiting list, PAMI sources indicated that “currently
no changes have been observed in the demand
for long-stay residences.
At this time, PAMI has more than 540 providers and registers an occupancy of
more than 20,500 beds
."
Meanwhile, they clarified: “Waiting lists
may be subject to availability in certain residences
, but the area does not register a shortage of beds to enter a residence.”
In other words, they explain that there may be delays in certain nursing homes but that if a PAMI member does not look for a specific place,
they can access a bed without problems
.
Gerontologist Miguel Ángel Acanfora assures that what is happening with nursing homes
is part of the crisis that is being registered in the field of health
.
“Today we are not only lacking supplies and personnel.
There are people who are evaluating the possibility of removing their relatives from nursing homes and requesting home care because they cannot afford to pay the fee," he highlights and believes that it is a problem that
"will continue to deepen."
He agrees with Semino that a change of these characteristics
is traumatic for the elderly
.
“In addition, in most cases, they are transferred to nursing homes because they require it and care at home is no longer enough,” he adds.
Sources from the private Health system highlighted that the contributions made by prepaid companies in nursing home coverage are set by the Superintendency of Health Services by category and that
these amounts were updated even when prepaid companies did not increase
.
Meanwhile, they pointed out that in 2023 the tariff required by the Superintendency rose more (121%) than the average fee for nursing homes (108%).
ACE