Nine months after the implementation of the Copago Cero (Zero Co-payment) initiative announced by President Gabriel Boric, a total of 685,426 people have benefited from the measure.
According to the President’s own assessment, given in the company of Health Minister Ximena Aguilera and the director of the National Health Fund (FONASA), Camilo Cid, the Copago Cero initiative has meant a total saving for users of more than $62 billion Chilean pesos (US$78 million). The initiative grants free treatment in the public healthcare system to sections C and D FONASA users.
The average saving per person has been estimated at $90,619 Chilean pesos (US$114) since the measure was implemented in September of last year.
The President visited a family who has benefited in the municipality of Cerro Navia. He highlighted the importance of implementing Copago Cero to improve people’s quality of life.
“You cannot imagine how important and gratifying it is to see that the issues worked on within Government are having concrete effects in improving the quality of life for Chilean families. And the family of Aymará was telling us how the injections that she needs, which she couldn’t receive for a while because of their high cost, are now available to her free of charge because of the progress we’ve made in making the Public Healthcare Network completely free for FONASA users,” he stated.
"Healthcare has to be a right, and part of that right is that it’s opportune, that it arrives on time, and we know the problems it causes Chilean families when waiting lists are eternal,” Gabriel Boric, President of Chile.
The President also took the opportunity to report a 32% fall in waiting lists. “This is a significant drop, but it’s still not enough. As a government, we aren’t satisfied and we know we have to keep working harder, much harder, establishing – as I said yesterday in the Chilean Chamber of Construction – an alliance between the public and private sectors in order to also improve opportunities for health.”
Private health insurance institutions (ISAPREs)
Lastly, President Boric referred to the situation that the private healthcare sector is currently experiencing. He reiterated that the Government is available to listen to all the stakeholders involved.
“As Minister Aguilera has stated, we are available to listen to the alternatives proposed by the private sector, in particular the private health insurance institutions (ISAPREs), to comply with the Supreme Court ruling. What we are not willing to do is tell an independent state branch, such as the judiciary, that we are not going to enforce the Supreme Court ruling through any contrivance,” he said.
He added, “therefore, we are available to listen to new alternatives to improve the bill we’ve introduced. We are interested, above all, in ensuring the continuity of treatment for all private sector users. We are interested in the system having solvency, but in compliance with the law. And we are very clear in this; as a government, we cannot approve any sort of ‘forgiveness’ intended to be made to the ISAPREs.”