In order to offer basic insurance with the Caja, current laws provide only a minimum monthly wage of ₡185,488 ($345). Caja uses this figure to calculate monthly insurance fees for workers even if they earn less than that. The law does not allow for coverage for temporary workers.
Unions leaders are threatening to call a general strike in late September or early October if lawmakers move forward with a bill that would eliminate public worker bonuses and cash incentives.
Classes will be suspended at 95 public schools across the country and public hospitals only will attend emergencies and lab tests. Porteadores, or private chauffeurs, will also protest starting at 8 a.m.
"In the end, my hospital stay was barely over 24 hours — a success in my book. Would I recommend it to a friend? It depends on the friend." Tico Times Managing Editor Jill Replogle shares her experience giving birth at Costa Rica's Hospital Calderón Guardia.
Costa Rica’s health minister called auto accidents a public health priority Monday during the presentation of the country’s new National Health Plan. Health Minister Dr. Fernando Llorca’s words were part of what he said was a more “holistic” approach to public health in Costa Rica.
The Supreme Court’s Constitutional Chamber, or Sala IV, ruled that the Costa Rican Social Security System did not unfairly discriminate against an obese man who applied and was not hired for a job.
Costa Rica will reach a population of 5 million by 2018, according to estimates from the National Statistics and Census Institute (INEC). INEC and Casa Presidencial warned that there are some growing pains ahead for the country as it approaches.
In 2014, the Ombudsman’s Office received a total of 30,264 complaints, with more than half — 52 percent — filed by women. The figure also represents the largest number of annual complaints received in the last two decades.
