Do Options Exist?
Subtitle: The Reform of Pension and Health Care Systems in Latin America (Pitt Latin Amercian Studies)
Contributors: Maria Amparo Cruz-Saco (Editor); Carmelo Mesa-Lago (Editor)
Edition: 1 edition
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press
Published: March 18, 1999
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 456
ISBN-13: 9780822940791
Subjects: Central government policies; Community care; Emergency services; Health systems & services; Welfare & benefit systems; c 1990 to c 2000; Social Welfare Policies And Programs; Political Science; Ethnic Issues; Sociology; Central America; South America; Ethnic Studies - General; Health Care Delivery; Health Care Issues; Human Services; Public Policy - Social Security; Health care reform; Latin America; Pensions; Social Security
Description: Social security in Latin America has encompassed a broad variety of programs designed to protect workers from the risks of old age, disability, death, common illness, maternity, occupational hazards, and unemployment. In the early 1990s, several Latin American countries implemented structural social security reforms, particularly in health care and in pensions.

The contributors to these essays discuss, for the first time anywhere, the theoretical context in which the reforms are taking place, their main attributes, their successes and failures, and recommendations for prospective reformers. The national reforms documented in this book show that it is possible to find a pattern that characterizes the reform process.

In addition to pointing out the opportunities for reform that presented themselves in various Latin American nations, the essays also evaluate the equity and welfare implications of the reforms. This work will be necessary reading for scholars of contemporary Latin America and professionals concerned with social security, health care, and social administration.