The Evolution of Health Benefits Packages in Colombia: Thirty Years of Successes and Failures

Marcela Brun Vergara; Johnattan Garcia Ruiz; Javier Guzman

Marcela Brun Vergara

Johnattan Garcia Ruiz

and

July 08, 2024

Health benefits packages in Colombia—what is covered, by whom, and at what cost—have evolved over the past 30 years. Coverage changed from two explicit health benefits packages (with benefits linked to ability to contribute) to an implicit approach that covers, in theory, everything for everyone, excluding a narrow negative list of services and health technologies. This article explores the evolution of priority setting in Colombia during two periods of major reform. Each period had its own advantages and disadvantages associated with different institutional arrangements, processes, and methodologies. Colombia’s evolution provides several lessons for other low- and middle-income countries interested in institutionalizing evidence-based priority-setting.

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Topics

Latin America Initiative

Global Health

iDSI and Priority-Setting

Health Benefits Packages

CITATION

Brun Vergara, Marcela, Johnattan Garcia Ruiz, and Javier Guzman. 2024. The Evolution of Health Benefits Packages in Colombia: Thirty Years of Successes and Failures. Center for Global Development.

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Financing Medicines for Primary Health Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

CGD NOTE

The Evolution of Health Benefits Packages in Colombia: Thirty Years of Successes and Failures

La evolución de la prestación de salud en Colombia: Treinta años de éxitos y fracasos