Center for Studies on Health Ecosystem Management
The Center for Studies on Health Ecosystem Management (CEGES) is an academic initiative of the Universidad de San Andrés Business School, directly linked to the MBA in Health Management. Its mission is to generate applied research, provide technical assistance, and foster dialogue among diverse healthcare sector stakeholders to improve strategic decision-making. The Center aims to serve as a hub of excellence that bridges academia with the public sector, companies, and healthcare organizations, producing scientific evidence on health management and economics. It operates across four pillars: applied research, technical assistance for governments and companies, executive education (in conjunction with the MBA in Health Management), and ecosystem engagement (networking).
Relevance of the Center
The importance of CEGES lies in its capacity to address structural problems within the health system in Argentina and the region:
Closing the gap between investment and results
Argentina allocates approximately 10.6% of its GDP to healthcare—a figure above the regional average—yet the results in terms of coverage and quality are not always proportional. CEGES seeks to generate efficiency so that resources are allocated more effectively.
Addressing fragmentation
Argentina’s healthcare system is complex and divided into three subsectors (public, social security, and private) that often operate without coordination. The Center proposes management tools to integrate these networks and improve the system’s overall governance.
Regional leadership
The document highlights that, unlike the United States or Europe, Latin America lacks world-class academic centers specializing in research applied to health management. CEGES aims to fill this gap, positioning the Universidad de San Andrés as a regional leader.
Response to profound changes
The ecosystem faces critical challenges such as an aging population, the rise of chronic diseases, pressure from technology costs, and digitalization (AI). The Center provides the analytical framework necessary for executives and regulators to lead this transformation.
Data Governance
Through the creation of a Health Ecosystem Observatory, CEGES will generate information on prices, services, and performance, facilitating an informed, evidence-based debate.
Thematic areas
CEGES organizes its applied research around six fundamental thematic areas:
1. Health Economics and Financing: Cost analysis, payment models, and sustainability.
2. Healthcare Organization Management: Hospital models, patient safety, and care networks.
3. Public Policy: Assessment of universal coverage, market regulation, and governance.
4. Value Chain Management: Logistics for supplies and medicines, and relationships between stakeholders.
5. Innovación y Tecnología (IA): Transformación digital, telemedicina y ciencia de datos.
6. Medición e Impacto: Desarrollo de un Observatorio del Ecosistema de Salud.
Gender Wage Gaps
This is one of the priority areas of the center’s 2026 agenda. Research will focus on:
Diagnosis and determinants
Analyze gender gaps in the national health sector’s remuneration system using data from the Permanent Household Survey (EPH).
Expected deliverables
Plans are in place to publish a specific working paper on the remuneration structure from a gender perspective, as well as at least one article in a peer-reviewed international journal.
Leadership
Research will also be conducted on how to strengthen the role of women leaders within the healthcare ecosystem.
Within the CEGES proposal, addressing the gender wage gap is not merely an isolated topic of study; rather, it constitutes one of the cross-cutting lines of action and one of the two academic priorities for its 2026 work agenda.
Here are the specific aspects the Center plans to investigate and develop regarding this issue:
Comprehensive Approach to the “Gender and Health” Line of Work
Beyond remuneration, the Center seeks to analyze gender dynamics in the health sector from three key angles:
- Remuneration: Investigating direct wage disparities between men and women in the sector.
- Task distribution: Analyzing how responsibilities and roles are allocated within healthcare organizations.
- Leadership: Identifying and fostering opportunities for more women to hold executive and decision-making roles within the ecosystem.
Research Methodology
By 2026, CEGES aims to gain a deeper understanding of the diagnosis and determinants of these gaps by utilizing robust data sources:
- Primary database: INDEC’s Permanent Household Surveys (EPH) will be used to obtain representative statistical data on the health labor market.
- Supplementary information: EPH data will be cross-referenced with other sector data to understand not only the magnitude of the gap but also the factors driving it (e.g., medical specialty, working hours, or job hierarchy).
Expected Products and Results
The relevance of this topic to the Center translates into concrete publication commitments for the 2026 cycle:
- Working Paper: The production of a specific CEGES report analyzing the remuneration structure of the Argentine health system from a gender perspective.
- International Publication: The goal of publishing these findings in an international peer-reviewed journal, which would position the Center’s research within the global conversation on economics and gender.
In addition to gender wage gaps, the other priority line of research established in the CEGES 2026 Agenda is the updating of the Argentine health system’s financing matrix.
This line of work is characterized by the following elements:
- Scope of analysis: A detailed study of all subsectors comprising the system is proposed, including the public sector (at both provincial and municipal levels), national and provincial social health insurance funds (Obras Sociales), PAMI, prepaid health insurance companies, out-of-pocket user spending, and Workers’ Compensation Insurance Providers (ARTs).
- Methodology and sources: To carry out this update, the Center will utilize available public information, updated population censuses, and large-scale official surveys, such as the National Household Expenditure Survey (ENGHo) and the Permanent Household Survey (EPH).
- Expected results: CEGES aims to produce a comprehensive working paper on the national system’s financing structure, as well as to secure at least one publication in a local scientific journal and another in an international, peer-reviewed journal.
This line of research is fundamental to the Center, as it seeks to generate evidence regarding resource allocation within a system that is currently characterized by fragmentation and segmentation.
Financing
Health system funding in Argentina is high compared to the rest of the region, reaching 10.6% of GDP, although outcomes do not always align with that level of investment.
Various funding sources are envisaged for the operation of CEGES, drawing on the track record of its director, Daniel Maceira:
- International Organizations: Collaborations with the World Bank, IDB, PAHO/WHO, the Gates Foundation, and agencies such as USAID.
- Technical Assistance and Knowledge Transfer: Agreements with governments (national and provincial), social health insurance funds, prepaid health plans, and the pharmaceutical industry.
- Strategic Alliances: Dialogues regarding working agreements for 2026 have already begun with an association of provincial social health insurance funds and a pharmaceutical industry chamber.