La Ribera Health Department

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Emer Moloney and Daniela Beyersdorfer

Sign Up Now! Already a Member? Log In
You must be logged into Bookshare to access this title. Learn about membership options, or view our freely available titles.

Synopsis: La Ribera was a privately managed, publicly funded health department in the Valencia region of Spain. The model began in 1999, when a new hospital was opened to cover the secondary health care needs of the health department's inhabitants. In 2003, the model was extended to also cover primary care. The health department received a capitation fee for each registered inhabitant of the health department, and provided health services at a 25% lower cost than public hospitals in the region. However, profits for the private operators remained low, in the region of 1%. In order for La Ribera to remain a viable option the hospital began working with a consulting firm to look into future options for growth, and potentially higher returns. A key factor for any of the options considered was the public perception that tax-financed access to care was a longstanding public good in Spain, and allowing private operators to profit from health care delivery was a thorny issue.