Health Affairs

Health Affairs, 28, no. 3 (2009): 853-863 doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.28.3.853 © 2009 by Project HOPE	New Online   Getting Health Reform Done   After the State of the Union   Incremental Reform   E-Health in Developing World   Most-Read Articles in 2009

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Colombia’s Universal Health Insurance System

Ursula Giedion and Manuela Villar Uribe

By insuring more than 80 percent of its population, Colombia provides a valuable opportunity to gather evidence on a hotly debated health policy issue. Results from three studies evaluating the impact of universal health insurance in Colombia show that it has greatly increased access to and use of health services, even those that are free for all, and has reduced the incidence of catastrophic health spending. The impact has been more dramatic among those most vulnerable to health shocks: those living in rural areas, the poorest, and the self-employed.

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