Universalizing Healthcare Policy in Chile and Uruguay.

Public healthcare systems can provide crucial protection for the poorest and most vulnerable groups in society, but not all systems are created equally. Indeed, while some countries have carried out healthcare reforms that increase coverage among low-income groups and respond to the risks faced by these sectors, other states have built exclusionary systems that fail to provide protection for the most vulnerable members of society. This underscores an interesting puzzle: what explains variation in the ability of Latin American states to universalize access to health services? This paper, which is part of a larger book manuscript, seeks to address this question in the context of Chile and Uruguay. I find that the organizational structure of political parties and the design of previous policies are important determinants of the ability of Latin America's advanced social protection states to pursue universalizing healthcare reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]