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Private Health Insurance in Chile: Basic or Complementary Insurance for Outpatient Services?
Author(s) -
Kifmann Mathias
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
international social security review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.349
H-Index - 28
eISSN - 1468-246X
pISSN - 0020-871X
DOI - 10.1111/1468-246x.00006
Subject(s) - incentive , private insurance , health insurance , state (computer science) , quarter (canadian coin) , actuarial science , business , public economics , population , health services , service (business) , health policy , economic growth , economics , health care , environmental health , medicine , geography , archaeology , algorithm , marketing , computer science , microeconomics
A private health insurance system has existed in Chile since 1981 and has covered over a quarter of the population of that country since 1995. This article examines that system in economic terms. The analysis focuses on the incentive effects of state regulations governing the formulation of private health insurance policies and the relationship with the state health service. The imbalance in policy termination rights and the unrestricted possibility to return to the state system emerge as central functional elements. The article postulates that the private system represents, for many, not a full coverage scheme but an additional policy for outpatient benefits, regardless of its officially stated aims.