Abstract

MILLAN-GONZALEZ, Ricardo  and  GONZALEZ-ESPINOZA, Olger Ignacio. Mental health and human rights: The case of private health insurance. Acta méd. costarric [online]. 2015, vol.57, n.4, pp.195-196. ISSN 0001-6002.

Health is recognized as a fundamental right by the Political Constitution of Costa Rica and by several international treaties ratified by the State. In spite of this, many private insurance companies exclude (or heavily restrict) coverage of several medical conditions, among them, those classified as psychiatric. This type of practice is not only discriminatory, but also reveals a failure to guarantee an integral protection of people´s health. It is therefore essential that insurance companies abstain from excluding basic health services, while the State, in turn, must comply with its obligation to ensure the effective guarantee of human rights, in particular by supervising the adequate respect of the right to health.

Keywords : seguros médicos privados; derechos humanos; salud mental; derecho a la salud; private medical insurance; human rights; mental health; right to health.

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