Alejandra has pervasive developmental disorder, a condition that causes hyperactivity, tantrums and a delay in speech development.
Alejandra Diz Cocurullo, 5, has just finished lunch at home and now walks contentedly with her parents to kindergarten. There, she greets her personal non-teacher companion, Natalia, a psychologist. They hug and walk into the school together, holding hands. Alejandra has pervasive developmental disorder, a condition that delays the development of communication and language skills.
Her symptoms include hyperactivity and tantrums, Cocurullo says. All of that improved when Alejandra began attending school with Natalia, who also helps her with schoolwork and with regulating her emotions. She gathered all her savings and asked for loans in order to pay Natalia herself. A law allows the scheme β along with private health insurance companies β to outsource disability-related services to independent service providers, who are hired as freelancers.
The regulations allow firms to wait until a particular service provider has invoiced them four times before compensating them β and they have a generous deadline of 60 days to process the invoices. Professionals like Natalia, who asked to be identified by only her first name for fear of employer retaliation, can end up waiting up to six months to get paid.
As a result, disability services are becoming ever scarcer, with many workers opting for alternative careers. In early September, payments for outsourced health professionals were delayed a month longer than normal, prompting a series of protests and strikes in multiple cities. From left to right, Julia, Juan Pablo, Marina, Marianela who asked to be identified by only first names for fear of employer retaliation and Yamila Iruretagoyena, who work with people with disabilities, protest in front of the Superintendence of Health Services in Buenos Aires.
