SISBEN as a Grouping Mechanism within Subsidized Health System in Colombia [El SISBEN como mecanismo de focalización individual del régimen subsidiado en salud en Colombia: Ventajas y limitaciones]

This document assesses the performance of SISBEN as instrument for targeting health insurance for the poor, RS, since it was created after Law 100 of 1993. Evidence suggests that targeting of health insurance based on Viejo SISBEN for years 1997 and 2003 was acceptable. In addition, preliminary evidence available for 2007 shows that the introduction of Nuevo SISBEN corrected several of the limitations of Viejo SISBEN, improving the targeting of RS. On the other hand, we analyze the effects of households' strategic response to SISBEN surveyors and find that the better off households benefit more of it, making of strategic response a regressive tool that allows close to one fifth of RS beneficiaries to manage to get included even though they are not actually eligible. © Revista de Econom'ia del Rosario.

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