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

Abstract

Health benefits packages in Colombia—what is covered, by whom, and at what cost—have evolved over the past thirty 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.

Keywords

• Health benefits package
• implicit rationing
• priority setting
• universal health coverage