Argentina - Provincial maternal and child health insurance: A results-based financing project at work

During the early 2000s, Argentina's total expenditures on health, as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), placed it among the top-20 countries in the world in per capita health spending. For example, Argentina spent 8.9 percent of GDP in 2000 and 10.1 percent in 2006. The per-capita government expenditures on health were US$382 in 2000 and US$251 in 2006. Yet, despite sweeping healthcare reforms, relatively high public health expenditures compared to other countries in the region, and a restructuring of the country's insurance policy, quality and access to service remained a problem throughout the decade. Almost one third of the population lacked access to basic healthcare. Although the reforms improved access to healthcare for those employed in the formal sectors, they were not enough to provide access for the poor, and they lacked the necessary incentives to improve the quality of service provision. Moreover, the poor continued to be excluded from the health insurance system and had worse than average health indicators.