Global Snapshots - Chile: problems with dictatorship now resolving

A glance over the history of the Chilean health system shows an unusual picture. Chile is one of few countries to successfully implement major reforms in their health sector. This middle income democratic country is now showing good health indicators, and the recent changes in its health sector are thought to be a possible model for other Latin American countries. The picture has not always been so positive, and not only for the health system, because of the Pinochet dictatorial regime.

Before the 1980s, democratic Chile boasted impressive standards of health care, with relatively equal access …