Korea

The two case studies in this paper suggest that poor and low-income people strongly prefer private, fee-based health care to free public health-care services. The studies use household data from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and San Salvador, El Salvador. These data show how the demand for health care is shaped by price, convenience, quality of care, and the consumer's level of education. Important findings from household data compare the degree to which private care providers, public sector providers, and social security facilities are used. Also reviewed is the degree to which ineligible consumers exploit social security services. Policy recommendations for government officials discuss ways to deliver better health care to various economic groups.