The Older Adults Program is expected to cost US$564 million in 2027, with at least 30,000 new enrollments and an adjustment to the monthly benefit. With this expansion, the program would reach 406,000 beneficiaries in total; about 100,000 people who are still potential beneficiaries would complete enrollment only in 2028.
The 2027 National General Budget bill provides an additional US$65 million to finance the expansion. The benefit, currently approximately G. 724,000, will rise to G. 764,000 in January, equivalent to 25% of the minimum wage. The calculation takes into account the 5% adjustment decreed by the Executive Branch on July 1, while the consumer price index published by the Central Bank of Paraguay was 2.4%.
The minimum age will remain 68 throughout the rest of 2026. Enrollments take place gradually, beginning with the oldest people, and also include those who turn 68 during each month.
The projected national budget totals US$25.7 billion, an increase of 11.2%. Economy and Finance Minister Óscar Lovera said that 76% of the increase will go to the Executive Branch. Of that amount, 62% will be concentrated in the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare.
The presentation also addressed the strike announced by the National Doctors' Union (Sinamed). Lovera said that three of the union's four demands have already been addressed: holiday pay, the supply of medicines and medical supplies, and the regularization of the employment status of 2,390 doctors. The professionals would be selected from a remaining list of qualified candidates from a competition with 490 positions and 2,890 applicants.
The current 2026 budget already includes an additional US$200 million for medicines and supplies, the minister added. The fourth demand is a general 76% raise for 12,000 doctors, equivalent to about G. 3 million per 12-hour-per-week contract. The measure would cost between US$130 million and US$150 million and, according to Lovera, has no defined funding source. “A general increase is not feasible; we have to discuss career-related issues,” he said.
Sinamed leader and National Doctors' Union member Rossana González responded to questions about her employment ties and productivity. She has two positions with the Ministry of Public Health and a dual position with the Social Security Institute (IPS), Paraguay's social security and public health institution, earning about G. 25 million per month.
The criticism was linked to the claim that González treated 37 patients in 2025 and none in the current year. The doctor acknowledged much of the published data but said it was part of a campaign against her and that she had all the documentation recorded in the official system.
González explained that she is an obstetrician-gynecologist, has postgraduate training in occupational medicine and, after 15 years, left the head of obstetrics and gynecology to work in occupational health during the pandemic. She said she works at San Pablo Hospital, which has 1,200 vulnerable employees, and that she handles medical conditions, occupational health and health-related reassignments.