Health
From The Report: Colombia 2014
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Though it has seen advances in coverage in the past two decades and has inched closer to attaining universal coverage, the health sector is also seeing pressure from escalating costs due to increased coverage and an ever-expanding mandatory health plan. In 2012 the public sector accounted for 75.8% of total expenditure, with the private sector making up the other 24.2%. Total health care expenditure represented 6.8% of GDP for the same year. Meanwhile, some sub-sectors areas are registering stable growth. A dynamic private sector is pushing medical tourism forward, in the process adding to the country’s expanding infrastructure capacity. Attracting more than 50,000 medical tourists in 2013, the industry reported revenues surpassing $220m in 2013, up significantly on the $130m recorded in 2012. The local pharmaceutical industry grew 6% in 2013, while the medical device market, valued at $1.2bn in 2013, is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 13.3%, reaching $2.2bn by 2018, double its current size.

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Overview

As coverage expands, important benchmarks have been set
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Though it enjoys a regional reputation for its quality, the Colombian health care system has experienced significant difficulties in recent years. While seeing advances in coverage in the past two decades, and inching closer toward attaining universal coverage, escalating costs from increased coverage and an ever-expanding mandatory health plan have put considerable financial pressure on the sector. As a result of a system-wide cash flow crisis, health care standards have fallen, in part prompting…

Analysis

Enhancing regulation can add value to an expanding segment
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Though smaller than regional powerhouses Brazil and Mexico, the Colombian pharmaceutical market has been expanding at a rapid pace in the past few years. Growth prospects for the industry were significantly boosted in 2012, when a reform to the Mandatory Health Plan (Plan Obligatorio de Salud, POS) widened the spectrum of benefits under the subsidiary scheme. Today, the POS covers nearly all pharmaceuticals. Meanwhile, the increase in coverage over the past decade has also contributed to the rise…