Home / Commons / Session kits / Medicines and costs / Handout: Argentina

Reach · Handout

Medicines and costs: Argentina.

A take-home sheet for people at the session. Other countries: United States · United Kingdom · Canada · Australia · New Zealand · India · Philippines.

On your phone? Tap any address to open it. After the session: where to go next. Short address for this sheet: moraph.org/s/medicines-and-costs/ar. Pass it on: cards to hand to someone.

Moraph for Good · Reach

Medicines and costs: Argentina

Handout · moraph.org/commons/sessions/reach/medicines-and-costs

The same medicine can cost very different amounts depending on the version and how you pay. This sheet lists questions to ask and the official help where you live, in the box below.

Generic medicines

  • A generic has the same active ingredient as the brand-name medicine.
  • It must meet the regulator’s quality standards and usually costs less.
  • It may look different; ask the pharmacist if you are unsure.

Questions to ask

  • Is there a generic or lower-cost option that would suit me?
  • What will this cost before you fill it?
  • Is there public help or an exemption I might qualify for?

If you can’t afford it

  • Tell your prescriber or pharmacist before you stop or skip anything.
  • Check the official help listed below.
  • Keep receipts; some schemes count what you have already paid.

Buying safely

  • Only buy from a licensed pharmacy.
  • Avoid sellers that don’t ask for a prescription.
  • Only take medicines prescribed for you.

In Argentina

  • Generic names. Under Ley 25.649, a prescription must give the medicine’s generic name; the doctor may also suggest a brand. The pharmacy must tell you which products have the same active ingredient and their prices, and must sell you an equivalent one if you ask for it.
  • What your plan pays. Under the Programa Médico Obligatorio (PMO, the compulsory basic package), medicines in it are generally covered at 40%. For listed medicines for common chronic conditions, coverage is 70% of a reference price, the average retail price of products with the same active ingredient.
  • Covered in full. Obras sociales must cover some medicines at 100%, including insulin, cancer medicines under approved protocols, tuberculosis drugs and contraceptives. They can’t use their own lists to stop you choosing any brand in the PMO’s Formulario Terapéutico (list of covered medicines).
  • Compare prices. The Ministerio de Salud’s Buscador de precios de medicamentos (medicine price finder) lists the medicines on the market, so you can compare prices and choose.
  • PAMI members. PAMI (INSSJP) members can apply online, free of charge, for 100% coverage of their medicines in some cases, including insulin and diabetes supplies, cancer and HIV treatments, disability, and for reasons of social vulnerability.
  • Public health centers. The Ministerio de Salud’s Remediar program sends medicines for free distribution to public primary care centers (CAPS). In October 2026 its list was refocused on vascular disease and its risk factors; provinces provide treatments for other conditions.

Official places to check:

General information, not advice about your own situation. Checked 22 October 2026. If an official source says something different, it is right. Free to copy and adapt. moraph.org/commons/sessions/reach/medicines-and-costs Version of .