Santa Fe Ensures Cancer Treatment Access Amidst National Medication Shortages
Santa Fe province is bolstering its funding for cancer treatments as national-level coverage faces cuts, delays, and disruptions, officials announced this week. The provincial government allocated more than $951 million in 2025 for 62 pharmaceutical products and has already launched a novel procurement process this year valued at over $2.024 billion, according to a statement released Friday.
The increased provincial spending comes as the national government’s provision of essential medicines, including those for cancer patients and transplant recipients, has develop into “unpredictable,” according to Santa Fe’s Health Minister, Silvia Ciancio. “the Nation delays, discontinues, adjusts, and cuts in sensitive areas such as essential medicines, for transplanted patients, for cancer patients, high-cost medicines and in sexual health supplies,” Ciancio stated.
Data released by the Ministry of Health shows a significant deterioration in access to oncological treatments through the national Banco de Drogas Especiales (Special Drugs Bank). In 2025, 63% of requested treatments were either not sent or arrived incomplete, nearly doubling the 37% non-coverage rate recorded in 2024. Specifically, 2,525 out of 3,990 treatment requests went unfulfilled or were partially filled in 2025, compared to 1,372 out of 3,771 requests in the prior year.
“For every denial or a response that is delayed or does not arrive, there is a patient who is not receiving the medication they need,” Ciancio said. She emphasized that the province’s proactive purchasing strategy, championed by Governor Maximiliano Pullaro, was critical to maintaining treatment access. “If we hadn’t advanced in Santa Fe with this strategy of purchases, today we would not be able to guarantee the provision of medicines. The people of Santa Fe find a response in the provincial system as what the Nation takes away, the Province provides.”
The province’s centralized purchasing policy, implemented in 2024, has yielded significant cost savings. The $951.733.085 spent on 62 oncological pharmaceuticals in 2025 represented a 92% discount compared to public retail prices. A new tender for 44 oncological medications, with a budget of $2.024.331.583.40, is currently under technical evaluation, having attracted 15 bidders.
The increased demand on the provincial public health system was also highlighted, with total healthcare visits rising from 9.160.361 in 2021 to 13.588.776 in 2025, serving over 1.8 million people last year, according to the Ministry of Health. Approximately 70% of patients in Santa Fe lack private health insurance, placing greater strain on the public system, Ciancio noted.
The province is awaiting the results of the current tender process for oncological medications, with no firm date announced for the awarding of contracts.