Health
The World Bank estimates that the life expectancy at birth for Costa Ricans at 2008 is 79 years, a figure unchanged since 2005.
Costa Rica has been cited in various journals as Central America's great health success story. With a per capita GDP a fraction of the United States, its health care system is ranked higher.[63] Prior to 1940, government hospitals and charities provided most health care delivery. But since the 1941 creation of the Social Security Administration (CCSS; Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social), Costa Rica has provided universal health care to its wage earning residents, with coverage extended to dependants over time. In 1973, the CCSS took over administration of all 29 of the country's public hospitals and all health care, also launching a Rural Health Program (Programa de Salud Rural) for primary care to rural areas, later extended to primary care services nationwide. In 1993, laws were passed to enable elected health boards that represented health consumers, social security representatives, employers, and social organizations. By the year 2000, social health insurance coverage was available to 82% of the Costa Rican population. Each health committee manages an area equivalent to one of the 83 administrative cantons of Costa Rica. There is Limited use of private, for-profit services (around 14.4% of the national total health expenditure). About 7 % of GDP is allocated to the health sector, and over 70% is government funded. There are some threats to the universal health care model. In 2003 Costa Rica abstained from the Central American Free Market Agreement (CAFTA) discussions due to the US condition of opening up the insurance market including health insurance.
Primary health Care facilities in Costa Rica include health clinics with a general practitioner, nurse, clerk, pharmacist and a primary health technician, around one per two population. In 2008 there were 5 specialty national hospitals, 3 general national hospitals, 7 regional hospitals, 13 peripheral hospitals, and 10 major clinics serving as referral centers for primary care clinics, which also deliver biopsychosocial services, family and community medical services and promotion and prevention programs. Patients can choose private health care to avoid waiting lists.
Costa Rican health professionals are well-paid in the national context and have high social prestige. In 2002 there were 0.58 new general practitioner consultations and 0.33 new specialist consultations per capita and a hospital admission rate of 8.1%.
Preventative health care is also successful. In 2002, 96% of Costa Rican women used some form of contraception, and antenatal care services provided to 87% of all pregnant women. All children under one have access to well-baby clinics and the immunization coverage rate in 2002 was above 91% for all antigens.
Costa Rica has a very low malaria incidence of 48 per 100 000 in 2000 and no reported cases of measles in 2002.
Although 40% of Costa Ricans live in rural areas, in 2002, only 9.5% of the population was below the $2 per day income poverty level and only 2.0% below $1 per day (vs 22.6% and 8.2%, respectively, in Colombia and 26.3% and 9.9% in Mexico). Ninety-five percent of the population has access to drinking water. The infant mortality rate was 9 per 1000, representing a 7-times reduction over a 3-decade span.
Costa Rica does not have armed forces and this is credited with the country's very high public expenditure on health and education.
The perinatal mortality rate dropped from 12.0 per 1000 in 1972 to 5.4 per 1000 in 2001.
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