Health care for the poor in Latin América and the Caribbean

RESUMO

An estimated 130 million of the poor in Latin América and the Caribbean currently have no access to health care. This públication--the culmination of a study carried out over a two-year period from 1988 to 1990--reviews the problems confronted by the health care systems in Latin América and the Caribbean during the 1980s, analyzes their current and potential capacity to provide adequate health protection for the poor, and offers recommendations for the reform of health care in the Region with a view toward increasing access for the poor. In addition to the regional overview, in-depth analyses are included of public- and private-sector efforts to extend health care coverage in five countries--Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, México, Perú, and Uruguay--that were selected as representative of the diverse geographic, economic, health, and social conditions found in the Américas. This work marks a major contribution to the comparative study of health care systems and offers insight into policies and actions to fulfill the goal of providing access to health care for those who live in urban or rural poverty