The state’s “AUGE” health care plan – which provides universal health coverage to low-income Chileans - is viewed as satisfactory by 92 percent of its users, according to an Adimark GFK study published last week.

The AUGE health care plan is financed by a seven percent paycheck contribution and administered by Chile's public health insurance system, FONASA. AUGE was started under former president Ricardo Lagos and the scope of its coverage was increased during the Bachelet administration.  

The eight percent of AUGE patients unsatisfied with the system complain that seriously ill people have had their operations delayed in favor of less urgent cases so that hospitals can meet stay within government expense limits. They also complain that waitlists for some operations are too long, as can be the case for seeing consultants or specialists.

A Chamber of Deputies' public health report issued in September found that 83,000 people are waitlisted to receive for surgery and 423,000 people are waitlisted to be seen by some sort of specialist. The report also noted that public hospitals lack overare short 600 beds and 1,423 doctors.

“The study was conduced to determine the levels of satisfaction among Chileans,” Adimark GFK director Roberto Mendez said. “It was carried out through telephone interviews and reflects a general sense of satisfaction among Chileans, which suggests that the service is working efficientlyas it should.”

Health Minister Alvaro Erazo said the study’s results have historical relevance and confirm that government spending has succeeded in improving the free health care system, which benefits 4.2 million Chileans. “We are finally heading in the right direction., public Public health is going to continue improving here in Chile in the future,” said Erazo.

Still, free health care system is not available to the country’s ever-growing immigrant population.

The AUGE/FONASA public health care plan covers some 11 million people, nearly two-thirds of the country's entire population.

President Michelle Bachelet increased financing for public health in 2009 from 5.7 to 8.7 percent of the national budget.

The free health care system is not available to the country’s fast-growing immigrant population until they have resident status.

SOURCES: LA NACION, LATIN AMERICAN NEWS LETTERS
By Paul Herbert ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )