The Chilean Medical Association called for the health budget to combine more efficient management with sufficient funding. According to the association, the sector cannot continue operating with initial allocations that then need to be supplemented during the year.
Its president, Anamaría Arriagada, made this argument in a letter sent to La Tercera, as reported by Cooperativa. In it, she agreed with columns by Jorge Acosta and former Health Minister Jaime Mañalich calling for more realistic budgets.
"Health cannot continue operating on budgets that will need to be supplemented during the year," Arriagada wrote. She added that more realistic foundations are needed, alongside improvements in management and productivity.
The debate centers on what is known as budget convergence. The concept involves bringing the initial budget approved by Congress closer to the spending the sector actually ends up carrying out. Currently, that gap is covered by additional funding during the year.
Arriagada considered this convergence necessary but warned that its success cannot be measured solely by a reduction in the deficit or in additional funding. "It must also be assessed by its ability to finance the care the population needs," she said.
The association leader maintained that "efficiency and adequate funding are not alternatives." In her view, management improvements must demonstrate what resources or capacity they free up, and be measured not only by delivering more services at a lower cost but also by improving health outcomes.
The association welcomed the fact that, amid fiscal constraints, health funding is growing more than funding for other sectors. Even so, it called for clarity on which needs can be funded and how much additional capacity will be created to provide better and more timely care.
For patients, the priorities set out by the Medical Association translate into three areas: reducing waiting lists, strengthening Primary Care (clinics and family health centers, the entry point to the public system), and completing pending investments in the sector, such as hospital infrastructure. The letter does not provide figures or specific targets for each area.
The organization also called for increasing public capacity in places where no private providers can meet demand. This concerns areas where the public system is people's only option for care.
The discussion comes as Congress considers the 2027 Budget. According to La Tercera, the increases for Health, Public Works, Housing and Security add up to more than all the additional spending in 2027 compared with what is expected to be spent in 2026.
"Responsibility must work in both directions," Arriagada concluded, pledging that the Medical Association would contribute evidence and proposals during the legislative process to move toward a budget that combines efficiency and adequate funding.
