According to the Chilean Health Superintendency, almost 157,000 members left the private system last year, marking the worst five-year period faced by health insurers.
The Chilean Health Superintendency revealed that in five consecutive years, ISAPRES lost almost 800 thousand members.
All of these people were transferred to the public system, that is, to the National Health Fund (Fonasa), in the midst of the Supreme Court ruling that found excessive charges in the plans of patients and members.
ISAPRES FLIGHT TO FONASA
Although 2024 showed a slowdown in the massive loss trend that had been dragging on, if we analyze the last five years, they have been the worst that private health insurers have faced, with considerable figures in loss of beneficiaries.
According to the Health Superintendency, almost 157 thousand members left the private system last year.
The ISAPRES currently have 2,559,157 people, which means a decrease of 5.8% in twelve months, being the lowest figure since November 2006.
Specifically, from December 2019 to December 2024, there was a loss of members that reached 786 thousand beneficiaries, which represents a steep drop of 23.5%.
These data were confirmed to La Radio by the Superintendent of Health, Víctor Torres, who blamed the insurance companies themselves for the leak.
He urged them to improve their efficiency and not pass on all costs to their members.
Former Health Superintendent and current director of the Esencial health insurance company, Manuel Inostroza, predicts that the flight will continue in the coming years with the risk of bankruptcy of some companies.
The former authority stated that the Government of Gabriel Boric is allowing the ISAPRES to bleed dry.
A similar position is held by the former Superintendent of Health, Patricio Fernández.
He said that the situation is worrying, considering that new increases in the plans are expected this year, so there must be constant monitoring.
David Torres, a professor at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Los Andes, said that the public system is already over-burdened, which is why structural reform is urgently needed.
If we look at the last five years, 2023 was the hardest hit year for ISAPRES in the last two decades, with 360 thousand fewer members, more than double the number who left the system the previous year (2022).
This massive flight was marked by the Supreme Court ruling that detected excessive charges by insurers and forced the passage of the Short Law on Isapres.
Private entities told Radio Biobío that while they admit the strong migration of beneficiaries in recent years, there is some peace of mind, since the numbers show that in 2024 the flight will be reduced, which they read as a "stabilization" of the system.
