The changeability of health care systems. Latin American experience.

National health care systems of Latin America have long consisted of a mixture of several subsystems, principally traditional healing; religious charity; Ministries of Health; social security organizations; other government agencies; voluntary agencies; enterprises; and a modern private market. Observations in Brazil and Peru in 1984, compared with 1962, show great changes in the proportions and character of all of these subsystems, particularly an expanding impact of the social security programs, in terms of people covered and the financial support of health services.