Membership increase fails to lift Chilean health insurance sector

Only one ISAPRE saw an increase in earnings • New rules for insurer loans • Bolivia to extend family health cover

According to the Health Superintendency, the regulatory entity for both public and private health services in Chile, the number of subscribers to the private health insurers, known as ISAPRES, increased by 4.5% in the year to June 2007. The net increase of more than 71,000 was the result of 178,000 new accounts and the ending of 107,000 existing memberships. This reverses years of decline in ISAPRE membership, and puts its recruitment for the period above that of the dominating FONASA state scheme, which only managed to attract 57,250 new accounts.