KEY FINDINGS:
- Programs to expand coverage occurred in the political context of redemocratization, reduced inequality, and stable economic growth;
- An additional 46 million people in nine countries have at least nominal guarantees of affordable health care;
- Most expansion of coverage was achieved through subsidization of those without capacity to pay;
- Nearly universal use of reproductive, maternal and child health services;
- Narrowing gap in health status and utilization of health services across socio-economic strata;
- Substantial socioeconomic inequalities remain, especially in access to preventive health services;
- Noncommunicable disease and associated risk factors have increased consistently among all socioeconomic groups, over time and across countries studied;
- Noncommunicable diseases account for most deaths in the region. Many of these deaths could be avoided through timely access to quality care;
- Quality of health services individuals receive depends much on where they fit in the social and/or economic order;
- Health reforms have placed more emphasis on the first level of care;
- Increase in public financing for health as a share of gross domestic product;
- Reductions in catastrophic expenditures and impoverishment, although millions of people still face health-related financial hardship;
- Expenditures on medicines remain a heavy burden on the poor;
- Best overall results have been seen in countries that increased public spending on health, covered their whole populations and integrated their health systems.