New Law Which Creates The Financial Protection System For Diagnostics And Treatment Of High Costs

On June 6th, 2015, Law No. 20,850, which creates the Financial Protection System for Diagnostics and Treatment of High Costs, and pays posthumous tribute to Luis Ricarte Soto Gallegos, has been published. This law creates a financial protection system for diagnostics and high cost treatments which will be defined by the Ministry of Health by means of a Supreme Decree. High cost treatment is defined as a treatment which includes pharmaceutical products, foods or medical devices related to diseases and health conditions and to the assistance necessary for confirming its diagnostic and follow up; which due to the high costs involved, hinders the access to diagnosis and treatment, or catastrophically impacts the economy of the beneficiary. The aforementioned includes oncological, immunological and rare diseases. All the beneficiaries of the health insurance systems of Chile can have access to this protection, including both the public and private systems, except for treatments covered by the labor accidents and professional diseases law, the mandatory insurance law for personal accidents caused by motorized vehicles and by the Agreement of Health Insurance through the Additional Coverage for Catastrophic Diseases (CAEC). In this last case, the beneficiaries should first use the CAEC coverage and if the treatment is not covered, they can access to the protection of this law. On the other hand, the law includes provisions which modify the Sanitary Code, such as...