Culture Project 3: The Peruvian Health System

Since I have been sick so often in Peru and seen so many doctors my mentor thought it would be a good idea if I looked into the Peruvian health system more for a culture project as I have only seen one side of it, and that is the private health care system.

As far as I can tell the health system in Peru has two sectors, the public and the private which is the same back home as well. However, within the public sector there are two types of national insurance.

The first is called Seguro Integral de Salud (SIS) which is run by the Peruvian Ministry of Health which is also known as MINSA. SIS means comprehensive health insurance and the aim of it is to protect the health of Peruvians who cannot afford health insurance – it gives priority to those who are vulnerable e.g those in poverty. About 18% of the population who receive this are in rural and urban areas where poverty is greater.  Qualification for SIS is based on an individual or family’s economic level and is funded with regular resources from the government.  This reminds me of the NHS really.

The second type of insurance is called El Segure Social de Salud del Peru (EsSalud) and it is given through employment for working families and individuals.  There are special EsSauld facilities and hospitals. The benefits of this are finances by employer contributions which is equivalent to 9% of the wages of workers.  This insurance covers about 20% of the population.  This sounds a bit like BUPA to me.

Apparently one of the biggest disadvantages of SIS and EsSalud is the waiting time to receive appointments or schedule an operation – it is usually a long time. Well to be that definitely sounds like the NHS at times.

Then there is the private healthcare system which I have experience firsthand, where you can turn up at clinics and wait in a queue to see a specialist but have to pay about 100 soles (£25) for each visit.  This is very good as you can see a specialist when you are actually suffering from the problem. I know you can do this in Britain, but still think there is a bit of a waiting time before you have an appointment, whereas here you just turn up and sit and wait in a queue.