Original article: Urge enmendar el triste legado del Gobierno de Boric en salud primaria
By Gabriela Flores Salgado, President of Confusam
As 2026 approaches, Primary Healthcare (APS) finds itself with its budget frozen for the second consecutive year. This is the alarming legacy left by Gabriel Boric’s government for his successor. The per capita funding, which is the primary financing tool for the sector, has not seen any increases in the last two years.
This situation, as we have repeatedly denounced and as highlighted by the Chilean Municipalities Association, will exacerbate the severe crisis already affecting municipal healthcare.
As the outgoing government nears the end of its term—despite presidential promises to strengthen the sector—it leaves a bitter taste among workers and users of primary healthcare services.
While the administration began with the commitment to universalize primary care, after four years only a pilot plan was implemented in 29 communes, lacking necessary financing, infrastructure, and healthcare equipment to undertake this significant task.
Moreover, since it was never projected as public policy, its legacy in this regard is a program whose continuity now relies on the new authorities.
This predicament, further complicated by the reduction in primary healthcare funding, should prompt the elected government of José Antonio Kast to prioritize its approach. The healthcare crisis he has criticized is not limited to hospital waiting lists; APS provides comprehensive support for care, health promotion, and prevention for the population, as evidenced during the recent pandemic, where it played a central role.
Therefore, considering that the new government is planning emergency actions across several areas, we urge the implementation of an urgent rescue plan to prevent an even greater healthcare disaster in primary care, which, if not executed, will escalate the dire situation experienced in hospitals.
However, while we are candid in stating that Confusam has sought and achieved agreements to improve primary healthcare with all governments throughout our 29 years of existence, we also declare that we will not accept actions aimed at privatizing the sector or altering the Model.
Gabriela Flores Salgado, President of Confusam
