Understanding Health Insurance in South America
Having health insurance while living or traveling in South America can save you from unexpected illnesses or injuries. This is because, as an expat living abroad, the risk of injuries and illnesses always exists and healthcare abroad may be costly.
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Are you an expat living overseas in South America? Are you also looking to stay insured abroad to safeguard your finances in the event of unexpected illnesses or injuries? This Pacific Prime article will discuss health insurance in South America for expats living or retiring there.
An Overview of Healthcare in South America
Various countries in South America feature universal public healthcare. These countries featuring universal healthcare include Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Peru, Trinidad, and Tobago.
However, it’s worth noting that there is a considerable gap in service between rural and urban areas.
For instance, while notable hospitals in Sao Paulo or Buenos Aires like Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein or Hospital Italiano, respectively, are considered regional centers for excellent healthcare services, such services aren’t as good in more rural areas like small villages or isolated cities.
Challenges in South America’s Healthcare
Around 30% of South America’s population lacks access to quality healthcare due to economic circumstances and 21% of the population is affected by geography, meaning those living in rural or isolated areas will have trouble accessing quality healthcare services in desperate times.
Additionally, several countries in South America have health concerns. Thus, it’s crucial to take this into consideration if you wish to relocate to or retire in South America.
For instance, child mortality in South America is partially attributed to high rates of malnutrition, which is worse for areas struck with poverty. Malnutrition also makes children more susceptible to diseases such as malaria, diarrhea, neonatal sepsis, or acute respiratory diseases.
Examples of Health Insurance in South America
Now that we’ve discussed South America’s general healthcare scheme, let’s move on to some key countries in the continent. Below, we’ll be discussing the health insurance scheme in some known countries in South America, such as Costa Rica, Brazil, and Argentina.
Health Insurance in South America: Costa Rica
Expats who wish to relocate to or retire in South America, specifically in Costa Rica, will need to register for the country’s national healthcare system known as “Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social” (CCSS, or known simply as “Caja”), which offers public health insurance coverage.
While that is an option, expats tend to gravitate more towards the private health insurance counterpart thanks to additional benefits such as private hospital and clinic accessibility, multilingual doctors (which is good news for expats who can’t speak Spanish), and shorter waiting times.
When it comes to private health insurance, expats can choose any international health insurance provider as long as they have international coverage in Costa Rica or they can also choose Costa Rica’s government-supported private health insurance system called the Instituto de Seguro Nacional (INS).
The exact cost of Costa Rican health insurance will vary depending on your age, selected benefits, medical conditions, deductibles, and coverage needs.
Public Health Insurance in Costa Rica
The public healthcare system under the CCSS will grant you complete coverage for all medical procedures, including prescription medications.
However, some drawbacks include potentially longer waiting times for non-emergency cases, limited specialist selections, and language barriers due to non-English speaking medical staff.
Private Health Insurance in Costa Rica
Where private health insurance in Costa Rica, courtesy of the INS, really shines and makes up for the shortcomings of its public healthcare counterpart is its shorter waiting times and free specialist selection.
The private health insurance in Costa Rica under the INS covers dental care, optometry, annual checkups, along with private hospital and clinic visits.
With private health insurance, expats can expect much shorter waiting times regardless of whether their medical case is an emergency or not, allowing access to urgent medical care. Additionally, expats will also be able to choose specific doctors or hospitals as they would like.
This is great news especially since with public health insurance, some expats may find the language barrier problematic due to not being able to speak Spanish or the medical staff not being able to communicate in English.
With the free specialist selection thanks to private health insurance, however, expats will get to freely choose specialists who can communicate in English for efficient healthcare services.
Health Insurance in South America: Brazil
Brazil features public and private health insurance options available for both locals and expats alike. The country’s public health insurance system is tax-funded and provided by the Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), available for anyone with legal residency in Brazil.
This means expats with visas allowing them to live, study, or work in Brazil are, in fact, eligible for Brazil’s public health insurance system.
Alternatively, if you would like greater access to modern facilities, free specialist selections, and shorter wait times, you also have the option of securing private health insurance in Brazil. Costs of health insurance plans will vary depending on the specific plan and selected benefits.
Public Health Insurance in Brazil
Public health insurance in Brazil, under the SUS system, covers general practitioner and specialist consultations, medications, hospitalization, and examinations or tests. However, keep in mind that public facilities can get crowded with longer waiting times, particularly in rural or isolated areas.
Private Health Insurance in Brazil
Meanwhile, private health insurance makes up for the drawbacks found in public health insurance by forgoing the longer waiting times in favor of shorter ones regardless of whether patients’ medical cases are emergencies or not.
Additionally, Brazil’s private health insurance also allows free specialist selections, enabling access to specific healthcare specialists as expats would like, including multilingual ones.
Health Insurance in South America: Argentina
Argentina is considered among the best in South America’s healthcare, with its healthcare sectors being divided into three sectors. These include the public and private sectors, much like any other country, and another addition in the form of the Social Security Sector.
All three sectors of Argentina’s healthcare system are overseen by the Argentina Ministry of Health (MSAL), which is also responsible for regulations, evaluations, and statistical collections.
Public Health Insurance in Argentina
Argentina’s public health insurance sector offers free or highly subsidized healthcare services to approximately half of the country’s population.
The public health insurance system covers medical appointments, hospital services, dental care, palliative care, rehabilitation services, prosthetics, and emergency medical transport.
Despite these benefits, public health insurance in Argentina is not without its shortcomings. For instance, waiting times in public healthcare facilities may be high and the language barrier between expat patients and certain non-English speaking doctors may be problematic.
Private Health Insurance in Argentina
Private health insurance is a preferred alternative among expats in Argentina thanks to benefits that make up for the shortcomings present in its aforementioned public health insurance counterpart.
These include shorter waiting times, allowing expats to access urgent medical care regardless of whether or not their medical case is an emergency or not, and allowing free selection of specialists, which is especially beneficial for non-Spanish speaking expats looking for English-speaking doctors.
The Social Security Sector in Argentina
Argentina’s social security sector, known as the Obras Sociales or OS for short, within the healthcare system, provides the most common form of non-public health insurance in the country.
Each level of the OS sector provides various coverage levels, but each level must guarantee minimum coverage levels for dental, maternity, medical, diagnostic, and preventative care.
What makes the social security sector in Argentina’s healthcare scheme appealing to expats is its pre-existing conditions coverage, allowing expats to secure varying levels of health insurance coverage in Argentina despite having illnesses, injuries, or other ailments at the time of application.
These are just some of the examples of the various health insurance systems in some of the countries within South America. As you can see, as much as the public health insurance sector offers, the private health insurance alternative is a generally preferred alternative for expats.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which of South America’s various countries is the healthiest?
Uruguay is often considered one of South America’s healthiest countries thanks to its well-developed healthcare system, high life expectancies, and low infectious disease rates.
Which countries in South America have universal healthcare?
Countries in South America with universal healthcare include Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Peru, Trinidad, and Tobago. Do keep in mind, though, that there is a considerable gap in service between rural and urban areas.
Which country is safer between Brazil and Colombia?
Despite Brazil’s superior ranking on the Global Peace Index when compared to Colombia, the latter has lower crime rates than the former, making Colombia safer for expats and travelers alike.
Conclusion
While various countries in South America, like the ones mentioned above, do offer universal healthcare, it’s worth noting for expats that there is indeed some form of discrepancy when it comes to treatment accessibility between urban and rural areas, the latter of which may be problematic.
This is because while there are key players when it comes to hospitals in the urban areas of various countries in South America, the quality of care, let alone accessibility to quality healthcare, in rural areas might not be as good as it should be.
As an international health insurance broker with over 20 years of experience, Pacific Prime has helped both expats and local citizens find an appropriate health insurance plan that ticks the boxes for not only their budget range but also their unique health insurance needs.
Whether you’re an expat in South America or a local citizen yourself, we are more than happy to help you out with completely impartial advice, available to you at no additional cost. If you have any questions, please get in touch with us or get a free quote here for plan comparisons.
If you enjoyed this article, you may also be interested in some of our other articles below. Click the links below to check them out!
International Hospitals for Expats – Top Care Abroad
Hospitals in South Africa – Expats and Travelers Guide
Serena earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of British Columbia, Canada. As such, she is an avid advocate of mental health and is fascinated by all things psychology (especially if it’s cognitive psychology!).
Her previous work experience includes teaching toddlers to read, writing for a travel/wellness online magazine, and then a business news blog. These combined experiences give her the skills and insights she needs to explain complex ideas in a succinct way. Being the daughter of an immigrant and a traveler herself, she is passionate about educating expats and digital nomads on travel and international health insurance.
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