[Health services privatization: the experiences of Chile and Costa Rica]

This study questions the premises that justify the neoliberal privatization of financing, managing and delivering health services. It also analyses the meaning of privatization and its strategies. We compare privatization in Chile and Costa Rica and suggest that the more limited, selective and locally designed privatization process in Costa Rica has resulted in a more equitable, and efficient health system than the imported privatization model introduced in Chile. The Costa Rican system also produces greater patient satisfaction and at the same time preserves the solidarity principle.