Pierre De Paepe

TL;DR: A series of measures designed to help aid agencies and national governments support local health care infrastructures or, as a minimum, avoid damaging them are suggested.

TL;DR: Differences can be detected in the use of services: in Colombia greater geographical and economic barriers and the need for authorization from insurers are more relevant, whereas in Brazil, it is the limited availability of health centres, doctors and drugs that leads to longer waiting times.

TL;DR: In both countries, inequity in the use of outpatient secondary care is more pronounced than in the other care levels, and the design of the health systems appears to determine access to the health services: two insurance schemes with different benefits packages and a segmented system in Brazil, with a significant private component.

TL;DR: In spite of serious under-financing during the Pinochet years, Chile's public health system remains the backbone of health provision, responsible for the impressive public health status.

TL;DR: A review of the literature shows that the proposed goals of universal coverage and equitable access to high-quality care have not been reached as mentioned in this paper, despite an explosion in costs and a considerable increase in public and private health expenditure, more than 40 percent of the population is still not covered by health insurance, and access to health care proves uncreasingly difficult.