Summary (English)

The Costa Rican public health system has been strengthened over the course of several decades and is widely considered to be a success story – one of the most successful in the Latin American region. Costa Rican residents have nearly universal access to a full range of healthcare services and enjoy effective protection from catastrophic health costs. This translates into tangible health outcomes.

The Costa Rican public health system is closing the final gaps towards the universality of protection based on social solidarity, including in its financing, while high-quality 
public services help enhance the delivery of social protection benefits. These characteristics constitute a few of the guiding principles set out in the Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202).