title: Risk Protection, Service Use, and Health Outcomes under Colombia's Health Insurance Program for the Poor.
abstract: Unexpected medical care spending imposes considerable financial risk on developing country households. Based on managed care models of health insurance in wealthy countries, Colombia's Régimen Subsidiado is a publicly financed insurance program targeted to the poor, aiming both to provide risk protection and to promote allocative efficiency in the use of medical care. Using a "fuzzy" regression discontinuity design, we find that the program has shielded the poor from some financial risk while increasing the use of traditionally under-utilized preventive services - with measurable health gains.
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Policy/Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research, Stanford University, 117 Encina Commons, Stanford, CA 94305-6019, USA, and National Bureau of Economic Research.
authors.forename: Grant
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Inter-American Development Bank, 1300 New York Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20577, USA.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, University College London, Gordon street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK, and Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).
authors.forename: Marcos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vera-Hernández