AUG. 4, 2015

10 years of AUGE: achievements, guarantees and how the health plan works

AUGE, or the Explicit Guarantees System (GES), came into force in July 2005.

What is AUGE?

AUGE is a universal health plan which provides explicit healthcare guarantees (garantías explícitas de salud, GES) with regard to coverage for 80 health problems which have been established by law. All Chilean men and women, whether they are in the public healthcare system (FONASA) or have a private health insurance plan (ISAPRE), are guaranteed coverage for these health problems. These guarantees constitute a right which must be granted whenever any Chilean is diagnosed with one of these pathologies and meets the requirements set for each one.

What does it guarantee?

Access – the right to receive attention and different health interventions, in the manner and under the conditions established for each AUGE health problem.

Financial Protection – the cost a person must pay for the attention is determined (in accordance with the GES Price, the rules that govern the calculation of copayment and maximum authorized limits).

The right to receive guaranteed and prompt attention within the time periods established.

Quality – the guaranteed benefits of AUGE must be provided by a healthcare giver that is registered and accredited by the Superintendence of Health.

What to do if a guarantee is not met?

If a guarantee is not fulfilled, you can file a complaint demanding compliance with your healthcare cover, be it FONASA or an ISAPRE insurance plan. As a last resort, you can make a complaint with the Superintendence of Health.

Some of AUGE’s achievements

  • Unified treatment protocols and allowing follow-up of diagnostic results, which was not previously a right.
  • Provides better financial coverage for highly prevalent pathologies among people of greater economic vulnerability.
  • Reduced gallbladder cancer with the introduction of preventive cholecystectomy.
  • Provides access to HIV/AIDS treatment to all people who need it. Today, there is greater detection, more treatment and a lower mortality rate.

Explicit guarantees in Fonasa and Isapre

  1. Chronic kidney disease, stage 4 and 5
  2. Operable congenital heart disorders in children under the age of 15 years
  3. Cervical cancer
  4. Pain relief and palliative care for advanced cancer
  5. Acute myocardial infarction
  6. Type I diabetes mellitus
  7. Type II diabetes mellitus
  8. Breast cancer in people aged 15 years and older
  9. Spinal dysraphism
  10. Scoliosis surgery for people under the age of 25 years
  11. Cataract surgery
  12. Total hip endoprothesis for people aged 65 years and older and arthrosis of the hip with severe functional limitations
  13. Cleft lip and palate
  14. Cancer in children under the age of 15 years
  15. Schizophrenia
  16. Testicular cancer in people aged 15 years and older
  17. Lymphomas in people aged 15 years and older
  18. Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS)
  19. Outpatient care for Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) in children under the age of 5 years
  20. Outpatient care for community-acquired pneumonia in people aged 65 years and older
  21. Primary or essential arterial hypertension in people aged 15 years and older
  22. Refractory epilepsy in children between the ages of 1 and 15 years
  23. Integral dental health care for girls and boys aged 6 years old
  24. Premature birth prevention
  25. Impulse and conduction disorders in people aged 15 years and older who require a pacemaker
  26. Cholestycectomy for the prevention of gallbladder cancer in people between the ages of 35 and 49 years
  27. Gastric cancer
  28. Prostate cancer in people aged 15 years and older
  29. Refractive errors in people aged 65 years and older
  30. Strabismus in children under the age of 9 years
  31. Diabetic retinopathy
  32. Nontraumatic rhegmatogenous retinal detachment
  33. Hemophilia
  34. Depression in people aged 15 years and older
  35. Treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia in symptomatic people
  36. Orthosis (or technical help) for people aged 65 years and older
  37. Ischemic stroke in people aged 15 years and older
  38. Outpatient treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
  39. Moderate and acute bronchial asthma in children under the age of 15 years
  40. Respiratory distress syndrome in the newborn
  41. Medical treatment for people aged 55 years and older with light or moderate hip and/or knee arthrosis
  42. Secondary subarachnoid hemorrhage to rupture of brain aneurysms
  43. Primary tumors of the central nervous system in people aged 15 years and older
  44. Surgery for herniated nucleus pulposus
  45. Leukemia in people aged 15 years and older
  46. Outpatient treatment for odontological emergencies
  47. Integral dental health care for 60 year old adults
  48. Serious polytrauma
  49. Moderate and serious traumatic brain injury
  50. Serious eye trauma
  51. Cystic fibrosis
  52. Rheumatoid arthritis
  53. Heavy consumption or low to moderate risk of addiction to alcohol and drugs in people under the age of 20 years
  54. Analgesia in childbirth
  55. Severe burns
  56. Bilateral hearing loss in people aged 65 years and older requiring hearing aids
  57. Retinopathy in premature babies
  58. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia in premature babies
  59. Bilateral sensorineural hearing loss in premature babies
  60. Nonrefractory epilepsy in people aged 15 years and older
  61. Bronchial asthma in people aged 15 years and older
  62. Parkinson’s disease
  63. Juvenile idiopathic arthritis
  64. Secondary prevention of end-stage chronic kidney disease
  65. Hip dysplasia
  66. Integral dental health care for pregnant women
  67. Relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis
  68. Chronic hepatitis due to hepatitis B virus
  69. Hepatitis C
  70. Colorectal cancer in people aged 15 years and older
  71. Epithelial ovarian cancer
  72. Bladder cancer in people aged 15 years and older
  73. Osteosarcoma in people aged 15 years and older
  74. Surgical treatment of chronic lesions of the aortic valve in people aged 15 years and older
  75. Bipolar disorder in people aged 15 years and older
  76. Hypothyroidism in people aged 15 years and older
  77. Treatment for moderate hearing loss in children under two
  78. Systemic lupus erythematosis
  79. Surgical treatment for chronic lesions of the mitral and tricuspid valves in people aged 15 years and older
  80. Treatment for the eradication of helicobacter pylori.