Health insurance system fragmentation and COVID-19 mortality: Evidence from in Peru

Peru has a fragmented health insurance system in which most insureds can only access the providers in their insurer’s network. The two largest schemes covered 53% and 30% of the population on 5 March 2020. Some individuals have dual insurance: they belong to both schemes and can thereby access a larger set of providers. We investigate whether this greater access to providers for those with dual insurance reduced mortality from COVID-19 between 6 March 2020 (the start of the pandemic in Peru) and 30 June 2021.