Medical Care Under Social Insurance in Latin America

In: Latin American research review, Band 21, Heft 1, S. 99-122

Abstract

Social insurance entitlements represent one of the more controversial aspects of social sector development in Latin America. The most comprehensive critique of social security views the system's coverage and organization as a reflection of the region's social stratification (Mesa-Lago 1978). According to this view, power groups in public administration, private industry, and labor unions exercise control over the organization and financing of sickness, invalidity, and pension funds, and they seek to restrict benefits to their respective memberships. The noninsured lack market power and political organization because of their low levels of human resources development and lack of social cohesion. Mesa-Lago's critique may be more justified for the lower-income than for the higher-income countries in Latin America, however, at least regarding medical care, which is the system's largest single entitlement program in most Latin American countries.