Author

Balsa, Ana Inés ; Triunfo, Patricia

Editor

Universidad de Montevideo, Facultad de Ciencias Empresariales y Economía, Departamento de Economía

Date

2018

Extensión

41 p.

Abstract

In 2007 the Uruguayan government launched a reform aimed at expanding social healthinsurance to family-members of formal workers and to retirees. The policy increased insurance generosity -relative to the safety net alternative- and increased competition by allowing new beneficiaries to choose care from a set of private providers. Exploiting the phased-in implementation and the geographic variation in the intensity of the reform, we find that the expansion of social health insurance had a negligible effect on perinatal health and health care among adolescent mothers and their newborns. Our results do not support prior research showing health care quality improvements in settings with increased choice. We hypothesize that health care rationing by private providers due to rising wages, a smaller primary care infrastructure of private providers in low-income neighborhoods, and cultural and financial barriers may have accounted for the lack of positive effects.

Palabras claves

Social health insurance Provider choice Competition Birthweight Prenatal care Health reform Latin America

Tipo

Documento de trabajo

Derechos

Abierto

Versión

Publicada

En

Documentos de trabajo del Departamento de Economía

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