International Health Insurance
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Read about private and public health insurance in Chile for foreigners, including coverage costs and plans, and how to find a doctor.
Chile is a leader in affordable public healthcare in Latin America. It was one of the first countries to introduce a comprehensive national healthcare system based on salary deductions, when it established the Fondo Nacional de Salud (FONASA) in the 1950s.
Since then, Chile has developed to provide some of the best healthcare in South America, particularly in Santiago, where standards are exceptionally high. According to the World Health Organization’s ranking of the most efficient healthcare systems in the world, Chile is ranked 33rd globally. This puts it just below countries like Finland and Canada and just above the United States and Denmark.
Chile also enjoys one of the highest life expectancy rates in the world, at 80 years for men and 85 years for women. This guide provides essential information about health insurance options for expats moving to Chile.
Chile operates a mixed healthcare system that includes both public and private components. The public system is administered through FONASA, while the private system is managed by Instituciones de Salud Previsional (ISAPRE). Additional specialized insurance programs also exist for certain groups, such as members of the Armed Forces.
The Ministry of Health oversees national regulation and governance, ensuring consistency and compliance across all sectors. Funding primarily comes from payroll taxes, supplemental government contributions, and moderate out-of-pocket expenses. On average, families spend about 5 percent of their income on healthcare expenses.
Beyond covering medical treatment, the public system plays a central role in national public health programs, supporting initiatives such as immunization campaigns and nutrition programs.
Chile’s public health achievements are notable. The country is nearing universal access to clean drinking water, with 99.9% of households having safe water and 99.9% of urban areas maintaining effective wastewater management. Despite these successes, significant challenges remain. Roughly 3.5 percent of the population lives in extreme poverty, a figure that has been slowly rising. Social inequality continues to influence healthcare access and outcomes, contributing to disparities across different communities.
Overall, Chile has a good standard of public healthcare. However, there are several key differences between the services offered by the public and private healthcare systems.
The public healthcare system focuses on primary healthcare, including disease prevention and treatment, as well as the promotion of health and wellness. It also places considerable emphasis on local care and makes referrals for secondary and tertiary care as needed.
On the other hand, the private sector is focused more on specialized services at the secondary and tertiary levels. Those working in the private sector often receive referrals from individuals in the public sector.
Therefore, it’s not so much a case of looking at the pros and cons of using the local health insurance system in Chile, but more about the kind of service you need and who provides it most efficiently.
Expats living in Chile are eligible for public healthcare. However, they have to have legal residency and pay taxes. Generally, all workers pay for healthcare through payroll taxes. However, as of 2018, there are options for self-employed workers as well.
There’s considerable freedom of choice in the process. Workers can choose either the state-run health service (FONASA) or a private insurer (ISAPRE) plan. People with a work contract have 7% of their salary deducted to cover FONASA healthcare costs.
FONASA also covers health insurance for those receiving unemployment benefits, pregnant women without insurance, the families of insured workers, those with disabilities, and impoverished citizens.
Of course, the better the plan, the more expensive it is. Many workers, especially those with higher salaries, opt to join an ISAPRE or a private care option, which comes at a higher overall cost.
Most health plans within Chile don’t offer comprehensive dental coverage or other kinds of auxiliary health coverage. However, the right global medical insurance plan can cover this and much more.
Private insurance also means you’ll be treated in facilities with multilingual staff, shorter wait times, and more private and comfortable rooms.
Approximately 20% of the population in Chile opts to carry private health insurance. It’s popular because private health facilities feature multilingual staff, convenient testing facilities, and significantly shorter wait times compared to the public system. As well, facilities tend to be newer, cleaner, more comfortable, and more private.
For U.S. citizens living in Chile, it is essential to have the best health insurance that allows you to visit private facilities with English-speaking staff.
In Chile, it’s not usually necessary to see a family physician before seeing a specialist. Most people tend to make appointments directly with a specialist if they are aware of the nature of their concerns. The services of a general practitioner are generally reserved for urgent care and preventative visits.
As public hospitals are often overcrowded, visiting a general practitioner when you’re unsure what ails you is generally preferable to visiting the hospital emergency department. However, in general, the role of the general practitioner or family physician isn’t as prominent in Chile as it is in other countries.
Most visits to family doctors require you to purchase a ticket or voucher known as a boleta beforehand. When you check in with the receptionist, you present your boleta. This system has the advantage of knowing that your bill has been paid for in advance, and there are no surprise charges.
Most physicians in urban areas work through large medical centers, including well-known brands such as VidaIntegra or Integramédica. Medical centers have a mix of general practitioners, specialists, and diagnostic facilities.
Chile’s distinctive topography and shape require expats to consider health insurance with extra care. Chile has a long, thin shape, which means that rural areas may be very isolated from larger urban centers.
Approximately 87% of Chile’s population resides in urban areas, with 40% concentrated in Santiago alone. As such, rural areas may indeed feel very rural, and services are often limited. Additionally, Chile is vulnerable to national disasters, including both earthquakes and tsunamis.
Finally, the country’s rugged, mountainous terrain is a dream for hikers and climbers, but medical help can be slow to access, and medical evacuations, if available, are costly without private health insurance.