Public Externalities of Universal Health Care Access

Tatiana Hiller, Leonardo Peñaloza-Pacheco and Sandra Rozo

No 11486, Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank

Abstract: Does extending full health coverage to an excluded group induce health externalities for the population already insured? In 2022 Colombia expanded health services from emergency only to full access to approximately two million Venezuelan migrants. Comparing municipalities more and less exposed to program take-up before and after its onset, this paper finds that the program reduced mortality rates for Colombians, saving one Colombian life for each 300 migrants covered. The effects are explained by a more efficient use of the health services by beneficiaries and regular and timely payments for the newly insured patients. The Colombian deaths saved are those that timely health treatment prevents. The net fiscal cost of the program is USD 93,000 per Colombian life saved, well below the value of a statistical life.

Date: 2026-10-15
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:11486

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