Think tank: Isapres must adapt to survive reforms

Chile's private healthcare providers, known as Isapres, will have to adapt in order to survive following the implementation of the government's AUGE program, local daily Diario Financiero quoted Hector Sanchez, director of health sector think tank Fundacion Salud y Futuro, as saying. Isapres will have to redirect their operational focus to counter the evitable loss of healthcare contributions to the public sector following the introduction of the government-backed reforms set for next year, he added. According to Sanchez, private healthcare providers will have to establish efficient cost management structures and redirect their purchase portfolios toward disease management as opposed to specialized healthcare services. Isapres will have to change their mentality toward purchases, concentrating less on price and more on the quality of the healthcare product, he added Plan AUGE is the centerpiece of Lagos' healthcare reform initiative, which has encountered stiff resistance from doctors and opposition political parties. It is due to come into full effect next year, the President said during his annual address before congress last month. AUGE seeks to provide better access to public healthcare and improve the quality of service by guaranteeing coverage for 56 of the population's most common illnesses.